The Final Verse (HIATUS)
by ProudWhiteTiger
Summary: A new blade. A new demigod. A new era. Twin swords, blood bonds and fallen gods work a curse powerful enough to bring about the apocalypse. The hero of Olympus, the son of Poseidon, and the Assassin of the Gods work with some new demigods-who are not supposed to exist-to unravel the history of the celestials, and Anaklusmos and its demonic twin, Kasfluctus.
1. A New Demigod

**I've been working on this fic for a long time now, and I really, really hope you guys like it.**

She walked down the path, the frost on the grass crunching under her boots. The day was young, and the soft light of the sun chariot had just begun to appear from the top of the trees. Though the snow had not fell heavily last night, the icy rivulets had still made a white blanket over everything, the ground, the tree-tops, the logs of wood that lay scattered all over the forest area.

She brushed her dark hair away from her eyes, and tied them back in a black ponytail. Her eyes searched the horizon, but came up with nothing. She must wait for her visitor for some longer.

And then, a figure of a man, surrounded by a reddish aura, materialized a little further away. The man came closer to her, and took of his red-tinted goggles, revealing eye sockets burning like the pits of Hades itself. He nodded at her, and she knelt down, following the courtesy and manner she knew she must show the God.

"My Lord Ares."

He grunted, and she rose, bearing a small smile of amusement on her face.

"Is that impertinence what I see in your eyes, demigod? Perhaps you would like a taste of the war god's sword?"

"No, my lord." Her smile was still there. "I only find it strange that I still stand alive before you, considering what my father has done."

Ares frowned. "The other's actions do not have to be a role in your life too, child. I may be violent, but war is not just about unreasonable killing."

"Well spoken, my lord. I wish to learn of the gods' verdict. Must I continue in my…quest?"

"Lord Zeus has spoken. You may. But…" he looked at her. "I heard of your feats. How could a demigod do all that with just a blade of Celestial Bronze?"

She smiled. This was expected. Even immortals may show a sense of curiosity.

Her hand moved to the pocket of her jeans, and she brought out a pen. "This, my Lord, is not Celestial Bronze."

She uncapped it, and a pale, silvery but not silver, Greek-style three-meter long sword sprang out. "I call it Shockwave."

Ares suddenly looked nervous. "What is this metal? This is not a blade of Olympus. What metal is your weapon forged of that even the god of war does not recognize?"

"Coronal Platinum, my lord. Much like the Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold and Luminous Silver the demigods of Olympus yield, except it has godly and monstrous alliance both." She turned the sword in her hands, and ran her fingers along the flat of the blade. "A sword forged in Tartarus itself, my lord, brought to the earth by a Titan. I salvaged it from him, many years ago, thus he was not able to fight in the Titan War."

Ares flexed his shoulders, a little uncertain how to respond to the girl's words. She was obviously powerful, and he'd heard what monsters she had killed, and under whose care she had grown up. Her story alone made him a little skeptic, and maybe…fearful.

"That is all well, child. I see you are a silver tongued one, and if I had not known better, I would have mistaken you for a child of the love goddess, Aphrodite. But I see that war runs in your past, present, and undeniably your future. I must say, though…I know of another whose eyes wield the same sea-green that yours do. Perhaps you have heard of him…?"

She smiled bemusedly. Of course. "Yes, my lord, I know of the Savior of Olympus. I have never met him…I have, however, heard of his journey through Tartarus. Of course, I, of all demigods, would know him, wouldn't I, lord?"  
The god mentally cursed himself. Of course she had been hidden to all but the Owl and, her father, revealed just now, he had forgotten. "What is your name, child?"

"Alex, my lord. Not very Greek, but I quite prefer it to 'the Assassin'."

"Of course. Alexandra or Alexis?" 

"Just Alex."

And he disappeared with a flash of red.

Alex sheathed her sword, and grinned to herself. "And now to meet the famed Perseus Jackson."


	2. Dare To Seek

**So, here's the second chapter.**

The demigod paced uncertainly on the hardwood floor of the arena, swinging his sword back and forth as he walked. It was almost dusk now, and he could imagine the sun setting over the water, turning it orange and rust.

His dream from last night had done nothing to help his already disturbed mood, and he knew that the deity who had paid him a visit in his nightmare was not one to send emergency messages for unimportant matters. And it had been his mom, after all.

He was a year-round camper, and it was still September, almost a month after the Second Giant War, and the camps were still reeling from-the after-effects of the battle. Gaia rising had not been a light issue, and one of his own siblings had played a pivotal role in the war.

"Malcolm, it's almost time for dinner. You've been here for a long time. You want to come? Chiron's calling."

The son of Athena turned around. Will Solace, the head counselor for Apollo, was standing at the entrance, his eyebrows raised. Behind him stood a figure almost completely obscured by the shadows that belonged to Nico di Angelo.

Nico had agreed to stay at Camp Half-Blood, partly because of the Roman praetors, Reyna and Jason Grace, and partly because of Will. They'd started dating only recently, and most of the time they stuck together like they'd been super glued.

He sighed. "I'll come. It's just that…now Annabeth's not here, and neither are most of my siblings, or, well, Percy. It's been a disturbing time... and the dream…"

He trailed off, mentally cursing himself. He'd almost released the secret his mom had asked him to preserve so carefully.

"Never mind." Malcolm said quickly. "Let's just go."

Nico gave him an observant glance, and turned away. Will followed him, and for a few seconds, Malcolm was alone.

He sheathed his sword, and exhaling through his nose, he walked out of the arena. He turned for a second to glance at the woods, wondering when the said demigod would arrive. Athena had said that the new half-blood would be an ally, but the other… _facts_ she'd mentioned didn't make Malcolm so sure.

He turned away and walked towards his cabin.

 _Line Break_

After a long, long time, Percy was actually happy. For months, he'd labored under the burden of the second Great Prophecy, and now he was free. The most disturbing things had taken place during the quest. Bob the Titan. Damasen the Giant. Annabeth's solo quest, Leo's death, and of course…Tartarus.

Remembering his journey, Percy shivered visibly. His mom noticed, and rolled her eyes. "Just go to sleep." She told him. "You've been working too hard. Rest."

She was right. He'd worked like anything to cover for his almost year-long absence from school. Plus studying for his SATs, and the DSTOMP for college in New Rome. And, yeah, he'd earned a break.

Annabeth was in Boston, some sort of family emergency. Grover, busy as usual, and Jason and Piper at Mr. McLean's place. Frank, Reyna and Hazel were at Camp Jupiter, and Leo…hadn't come back.

Percy walked back to his room and stashed his books on the table. The light was switched off, and the room was plunged in darkness. It was eleven in the night, and it was time to crash.

He stretched, yawning as he did. He turned around to grab his pajamas, when his eyes widened at the scene before him.

A figure was standing by his bedside, examining his orange camp T-shirt, oblivious to his entry. It was obviously a girl, with long dark hair falling over her shoulders, spilling to her mid-back, but her features were obscured by the shadows. Wondering for a moment if it was a goddess, Percy decided against it, and his hand drifted to his pocket, to Riptide. The girl's aura was strong, but not goddess strong. Probably a monster.

He uncapped Riptide, and the pen turned into a sword with a soft metallic _chink._ The girl turned towards him. The light from outside wasn't enough o completely show her face, but her luminous sea-green eyes studied him with amusement, and a trace of a lazy smile was noticeable. After a few seconds of studying each other, she turned to the fire escape window, and gazed out, almost uninterestedly.

Percy was stunned. She was arrogant; that was for sure.

He stepped closer to the girl, still maintaining his fighting stance.

Without any warning, the girl grabbed the windowsill and launched herself onto it, flipping around in midair so that she was facing Percy again.

Arrogant _and_ skilled. Deadly combination.

She sat on her haunches, her fingers still gripping the part of the windowsill between her feet, like some sort of Spiderman, and regarded Percy like a cat. She raised an eyebrow suggestively.

Percy was aware that his mouth hung open in utter amazement.

The girl smirked and did a back flip, throwing herself out of the apartment, and free-fell downwards, headfirst. Coming out of his shock, Percy rushed to the window and looked out, only to find a quiet alleyway.

He turned around, still stunned from the encounter. No monster had ever dared to enter his room before. He had a nagging suspicion that the girl had been a demigod. A powerful demigod.

Percy noticed a dagger lying on the floor. He picked it up, and turned it in his fingers.

It was silver. Not belonging to his weapon collection. As he turned it, a few words engraved on the blade caught his eye. Frowning, he turned the dagger again so he could see the Ancient Greek writing.

A single line was engraved on one side of the Luminous Silver blade.

 _Dare to seek the past._

The dagger fell from his hand.


	3. The Talk About Housebreaking

**Okay. Let's assume Apollo never lost his immortality, Meg doesn't exist and neither does Triumvirate Holdings. There are no half-immortal Ancient Roman Emperors still walking around, and this all takes place one month after the Second Giant War.**

"Duck!"

Percy had no time to explain why as Malcolm dropped to the ground, flat on his stomach as a chainsaw-Frisbee contraption flew over him, into the side of the hill, and exploded in a shower of sparks and shrapnel.

He shouldered his backpack and ran towards Malcolm, who sat up and groaned.

"What in Hades was that?," Percy asked the son of Athena, who huffed in exasperation and frowned at the bunch of campers down in the fields, who, by their biceps and mechanical mess, were probably Hephaestus kids.

"It's a bloody exploding _Chrisbee._ I've told Harley a million times to fix the simulator and propeller connector, but that damned kid _just won't listen."_

Percy frowned. "What is a Chrisbee? And what do you even need it for? Monsters?"

"A Chrisbee is a mix-and-mash of a Frisbee and a chainsaw. A homonym. One of Cabin Nine's crazy creations. And it's for a camp activity we're having. A three-legged death race in Daedalus's Labyrinth. After Hazel Levesque got rid of Pasiphae, it's being used a lot more…it feels kinda subdued, somehow " Malcolm glanced furtively at the woods, which Percy was for the attention Harley's Chrisbee would have attracted.

He winced at the blond boy's words. "Bad idea. I wouldn't trust Daedalus's creations any more than I would trust Mr. D to remember our names properly."

Malcolm laughed. "Okay, maybe. But it's September; autumn. Why are you at camp?"

Percy's expression turned serious. "About that…well, it's better if I just talk to Chiron about it first."

The other boy nodded. "You go on. I'll be right with you."

"Are you…looking for something?"

Malcolm hesitated. "Well-"

A piercing howl, a little subdued by the closely crowded trees, interrupted him.

The boys turned to the woods, where the noise had come from. It had sounded like it was some distance away from Thalia's Pine, so the others down in the camp area wouldn't have heard it. Upon hearing it, Malcolm drew a sharp breath, and ran his fingers through his blond hair. His usually calm gray eyes looked unusually fearful.

Percy brought out Riptide. "You go on and call for some help. I'll handle it. None of the other's should have heard that; it was too far."

Malcolm shook his head. "No- I'll go. You go to Chiron. No need to call anyone."

He sprinted towards the woods before Percy could say anything.

Percy hesitated, contemplating his options. He could go back; it didn't seem too big a problem. But Malcolm had been acting a bit strange, he should check it out. After a split-second decision, he ran after Malcolm, careful not to be seen.

 _Line Break_

Malcolm ran through the woods, a blur of green and orange and brown, in the direction of the howl. After some time, when he could not decide whether he'd been running for ten minutes or ten years, he found himself in a clearing, his eyes wide at the sight that unfolded itself before him.

A hooded figure was fighting three monsters, each having three pairs of arms. The bronze shortsword shining in the figure's grip told Malcolm it was a demigod, but the loincloth-clad monsters worried him.

Gegenees.

He sucked in his breath. It was exactly what Athena had told him in his dream. He wanted to help, nut he'd been strictly ordered not to. He would have to wait and watch.

The other demigod stepped close to the first monster, and in a single sidestrike, chopped off three of its arms. The Earthborn roared in outrage and tried to swipe at the figure, but it brought the sword up, over its head, and slammed the hilt into the monster's face, which instantly disintegrated. The other two attacked together, and the sword-wielder brought down the sword in a diagonal arc, cutting through a monster's shoulder, slicing it into two halves.

The remaining monster lunged, but the figure sidestepped the attack easily, and the sword cut into the back of the monster's neck, decapitating it and turning it into dust.

Malcolm frowned. Judging from the demigod's technique, he guessed that he had been trained well in the art of the sword. But the goddess had clearly stated that it was a runaway.

He stepped into the clearing, dead leaves crunching under his feet. Malcolm cleared his throat.

The demigod turned around and pushed back the hood to reveal the face of a beautiful girl, about seventeen, with sea-green eyes, and long black hair. As soon as he saw her, Malcolm immediately felt something warm in his chest, and felt blood rise to his face, and his lips parted in shock-and something else-shyness.

He felt amazed to still be able to feel that.

Behind him, someone inhaled sharply. Malcolm turned around-partly in an attempt to hide his blush-and found himself face to face with Percy Jackson, his emerald eyes as wide as saucers.

"You."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Yes? Do I know you?"

Percy surged forward and pointed Riptide at her. "You break into my house, and then ask me if I _know you_?"

"Whoa." Malcolm frowned, glad for Percy's claim to have baffled him enough to have lost his blush. "Run that by me again."

Percy turned to him, and Malcolm noticed that he didn't look angry, just stunned. "She-"

"I'm afraid you have mistaken me for someone else." The girl interrupted. "I don't even know who the hell you are, and I'd _break into your house?"_

Percy looked at her in utter disbelief.

Malcolm shook his head and turned to the new demigod. "Let's just start with _Who are you?"_

"Alex-" she stopped abruptly, as if she'd almost let something slip. "Alex Lightwood."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Like that Mortal Instruments character?"

"Just messing with you," Alex grinned. "It's actually Parrish."

Percy stared at her. Malcolm rolled his eyes. "Decide."

She gave him a lopsided smile, and a distant memory stabbed at him. He'd seen that exact expression before…

"Let's start again," she said. "I'm Alex Ryder."

Percy gaped at her. Malcolm glared.

"Enough," he hissed.

Alex had the nerve to laugh. "All right," she said. "I'm Alex Shaw."

"That's better." Malcolm muttered.

"All right, _Shaw,"_ Percy said. "Let's get your ass to camp."

Alex shrugged.

"And we'll see if Hera has brought us a new recruit, or if she's brought us an enemy to kill."

Malcolm inclined his head. "How do you know its Hera?"

Percy shrugged. "She's usually the one who brings trouble into my life."

Alex rolled her eyes.

"And that's what Reyna said when Juno brought me to Camp Jupiter. It sounded cool. I've always wanted to say that."

Malcolm sighed and turned away. "Let's just go."

The three walked towards camp.

 _Line Break_

As the trio waded through the crowd of curious campers, Alex studied the two boys. Percy made her smirk internally; she was already savoring her moment of triumph as she pictured his face when he discovered her godly parentage. The other one, Malcolm, he'd said, seemed like someone she could tease and flirt with.

All that bookish seriousness of him, and the way he'd not-very-subtly blushed made the internal smirk visible on her face. Malcolm looked back, and frowned.

Alex raised her eyebrows, like, _what?_

He scowled and stopped, turning to Percy, whispering something in his ear. The green-eyed demigod sighed and shook his head before turning back to face her.

"I think you should be taken straight to Chiron." He said, warily. "You have a strong aura. Apart from the 'breaking into my house' thing."

She shrugged.

"I'll take her," Malcolm said to Percy.

She felt the corners of her lips quirking up. "Take me? Gods, even demigod aren't decent enough these days."

At her words, both the boys turned red. Alex tried not to notice the way the flush splayed across the blond boy's angular cheekbones, and how adorable the red sheen looked.

Percy walked in the direction of the cabins, with his backpack, and Malcolm, still blushing, gestured at her to follow him.

They stopped in front of the Bid House. It looked harmless, but Alex knew. Here, the two Great Prophecies had been foretold; here, May Castellan had lost her sanity. Here, Percy Jackson had received his first quest.

Chiron sat on the porch in wheelchair form, listening to Frank Sinatra on an old-timey record player. He smiled at the two as they came near, and motioned for them to sit. They did, and the centaur looked at her kindly, as Malcolm told him the encounter.

"So we have a new demigod, and a powerful one at that. I'm sure you'll be claimed at the campfire tonight, if not earlier."

Malcolm looked uneasy, but decided not to share the information about the whole breaking-into-Percy's-house affair. Alex decided not to speak. She had a week, tops, before the centaur realized the truth about her. But she'd have to be careful not to give herself away. According to her teacher/stepmother, she had two allies whom she could share her identity with: Malcolm and Nico, the son of Hades. Percy could be told later.

"I'll show her around," Malcolm said, still looking uncomfortable.

Chiron smiled. "Sure. Remember to remind Nyssa about the race, will you?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Malcolm glanced at Alex, as if trying to study her, to read her body language. Then he turned away, and nervously tugged at his blond hair, which came just above his shoulders, Danny Rand style. Alex smiled a little; he looked cute when he did that.

They walked in the direction of the cabins, and Alex hoped she would be able to stay long enough to get to know this guy. But, well, she wasn't really going anywhere. She glanced past the strawberry fields, at the statue standing atop Half-Blood Hill, and then at the woods, then frowned and looked back at the Athena Parthenos.

For a moment, just a fleeting second, she'd thought that the gold and ivory face had winked at her.

Knowingly.

Alex grinned inwardly and returned her gaze to Malcolm, to find him studying her. When he saw that she'd noticed, he blushed and looked away.

She smiled at him.

"Lead on, Gray Eyes."


	4. The Winged One

Percy was sure that Alex had been the girl. Did everyone think that he wouldn't be able to recognize the very person who had managed, somehow, to get into his apartment unnoticed? She'd been trying to call him to camp so that he would get to be there when she arrived; through the dagger engraving. But why would she do that?

All this went through his mind as he sat, alone, under the trident banner at the campfire. Alex sat with Chiron; Malcolm Pace under the mostly empty silver owl banner for Athena. Chiron had a tense expression on his face as he studied the dancing flames of the fire, his eyes reflecting the gold and orange.

The demigods were discussing plans for the three legged death race they were going to have in the labyrinth. After a few bored minutes of watching the Ares and Hephaestus cabin fight for having the Chrisbees explode, or not, Percy watched Malcolm as he stood up and cleared his throat.

The entire audience now had their eyes and attention trained on the gray eyed demigod.

"My fellow half bloods," He spoke, with the true oratory skills of a child of the wisdom goddess. "I know all of you must be anxious about the fate of the exploding chainsaw and Frisbee contraptions, but I have reason to believe that we have more pressing matters at hand. Almost immediately after the arrival of Percy Jackson, I and he recruited a new demigod we found in a clearing in the woods. And…I may be wrong, but the new half blood's aura suggests new power."

He looked at Chiron, who looked calm on the exterior, but years of training with him told Percy he was disturbed by the arrival of Alex Shaw.

Chiron let silence prevail for a few moments, and then crossed his arms over his chest. "The demigod is strong." He said with finality.

The statement's heaviness sank in, and it was chaos.

Percy, feeling he should vouch for the new girl, got up and spread his arms. "I know you are worried about the dangers of having a powerful demigod such as Alex, here, at such a mature age, nonetheless, and its possible connection to my arrival. But we must remember that we are a family, and we should welcome any new member into it with open arms."

"Regardless of the consequences," someone muttered.

As soon as the said person finished speaking, there was a collective gasp from the campers. Percy frowned, wondering why the demigods were taking the comment so seriously. Then he noticed that their faces were bathed in a blue green glow. His frown deepened, and he turned in the direction of the source of light. And almost fainted.

Above Alex's head floated a blue and green holographic symbol, an intricate trident. This meant… the symbol of his father. Percy's father.

After a few moments of gasps and widened eyes, Chiron bent his front legs and bowed and spoke in a solemn voice, like a preacher at a funeral.

"All hail Alex Shaw, daughter of Poseidon, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of horses."

 _Line Break_

"This is bad."

Chiron's words spoke for all the campers. All of them were standing in shock at the sight before them. First the claiming of Alex Shaw by Poseidon, and now…this.

The group of about twenty demigods had been sitting for breakfast the next morning, when a howl reverberated through the area, and after a few moments, an unidentified boy stumbled in, a sword in hand, the front of his black t shirt torn and bloody. He staggered up to Chiron and collapsed.

And that was how all of them ended up in a semicircle around the boy, who was beginning to come around, and was sitting in a chair. Chiron announced it was another new demigod.

"Two in a row," someone muttered in wonder.

Everyone was whispering about the strange new boy with hair as white as snow, and skin only a shade less pale. Nico forged to the front of the crowd, Will closed behind, and took a good look at the new demigod.

He was handsome, utterly handsome. Too handsome for it to be true, with the elegant and delicate looks of a godling. He was an albino, about sixteen. Maybe a year older, but his well defined face structure, pale pink lips and chiseled jaw and cheekbones made him look as if he was a roman statue come alive. His eyes, when he opened them, were amber, with flecks of onyx and blood red.

He opened his eyes and immediately grabbed the arms of the chair. "Leave me alone!"

Chiron eased him and assured him he was safe. The boy relaxed in the chair.

"A dog…huge and black as night…his fangs were like daggers and eyes like moons…" the boy shivered.

"You are in safe hands now, child. What is your name?"

The boy eyed him suspiciously. Nico thought it must have been a hellhound that attacked him, with the look of the scars across his chest and his description. He must be pretty afraid.

Finally, he said, "Adonis."

 _Adonis,_ Nico mused. _The beautiful one._ _A fitting name._

"Who is your mother?" Chiron said. Nico suspected it must be Aphrodite, but he'd never seen a son of even Venus/Aphrodite so ravishingly handsome.

"Maya Lane. She…the dog…it…"

He broke off and closed his eyes. Tears spilled onto his shapely cheeks.

So his father was the god. Strange.

"And your father?"

"I don't know. I never met him…my mother told me he left her for another." Adonis said in a trembling voice.

As if on cue, a blazing sign appeared over his head. An arrow, covered in blood.

"That's not a sign of Apollo," Will said, frowning. "It's not a bloody arrow; it's a golden one. But I don't know any other god who uses arrows, except Artemis. And Artemis doesn't have kids."

"I know of whom the symbol is, young one." Chiron said gravely. "That means…he is the first of his kind."

"What are you talking about?" Adonis said nervously.

"All hail Adonis Lane…," Chiron said.

Everyone looked at him.

"…son of Eros, god of desire, the Winged One, the Epitome of Beauty."

 **Hope you like it. Read n Review!**


	5. Like A Nightmare

The rain fell in torrents as the twelve year old made her way across the muddy land, her boots sloshing and wet. Once in a while, lightning dropped out of the sky like tipped over buckets of liquid electricity. The girl shivered, chilled to the bone by the icy droplets that had penetrated her hunting jacket, running down her skin like fingers of snow. She was too scared and panicked to even will herself to stay dry.

She suspected that it was Khione, trying to punish her for her father's broken oath. _This is how it works,_ the voice of her stepmother spoke in her mind; a memory of old. _The child bears the ancestor's curse._

She heard soft footfalls behind her, accompanied by the clanking of metal on metal. _Combat boots,_ she thought, _and definitely full body armor._

Her training kicked in, and she began running calculations in her mind, assessing the person's position, and approximate weight and height. From the heavy thudding of footsteps and the looming shadow created by moonlight on the slick ground, she could gather that it was a grown man.

The demigod's breathing quickened, and she considered taking flight, but she knew she could never outrun the man, especially because of the thick aura surrounding him, pulling her twelve year old self in towards himself.

Sucking in her breath through her teeth, she turned to look the man in the eye. And froze.

The raindrops and icy wind seemed warm compared to the chill the man's eyes sent down her spine. They were pitch black, as dark as Nyx, and looking into them; she could see remains of destroyed cities, mutilated bodies, broken hearts and lost dreams. His hair was a faded silver color, peeking out from under his black helmet. His armor was the same color, and from the mist rolling off it in waves, she could tell that it was Stygian Iron.

He grinned down at her. "So, how's it going, little demigod? You should not have run away. Now you will deal with me."

She scrambled back, but slipped in the mud and fell on her back, feeling the air knocked out of her lungs.

The Titan (clearly) laughed and pulled out a silvery blade from its sheath. In his big, baseball glove hands it looked almost dainty, but she knew it must be at least a meter long. She gulped.

"This blade is called Coronal Platinum, little girl, the first and last of its kind." He ran his fingers along the flat of the blade.

She was shivering hard now.

He placed the tip of the sword at her neck. "And while we speak, the little son of Poseidon fights a hopeless battle against the prisoner of Minos…the Minotaur. And when he dies, and he will, Olympus will tear itself apart, the sky and the sea at war. I will cherish its moments of annihilation." He took a long breath. "And you are a wildcard, girl. So I will have to kill you."

"Who-who are you?" she managed.

His laugh was like buildings cracking. "Of course. Do you not recognize me? I am Perses, son of Krios and Eurybia. The titan of destruction himself will destroy you!"

She was crying by now, each breath ragged and uneven. "L-leave me alone!"

He smiled cruelly at her, and dragged the blade lightly across her face. "And you will lose your family, your life and your world."

Her throat closed up in panic.

"This blade is named _Kasfluctus…_ it speaks of an earthquake, your own father's weapon of obliteration. But," he leaned down and sneered at her. "he will soon be gone too."

She screamed. The ground seemed to respond to her emotions, the rain coming down harder, and the earth cracked open under the startled Titan, who dropped his sword. "Wh-what is this?"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed, and the earth trembled and fissures spread out from the crack, swallowing Perses up.

The rain turned into a storm, and she was left alone, screaming and crying on the ground, which opened up underneath her…

"NO!" Alex screamed and jerked upright on her bunk bed. One hand was fisted into the bed sheet, the other clutching Shockwave. She was drenched in sweat and tears, and she tasted blood in her mouth from biting the inside of it.

She released the sheet from her grasp and ran her fingers through her long hair. Her breathing was heavy and untimed.

"Hey."

She started and turned towards the side from where the gentle voice had come. Of course, she was in the Poseidon cabin, and she was not alone.

Percy stood next to her bed, looking at her with a worried, small, frown. "Are you okay?"

Alex nodded. "Just…a nightmare."

It was her second night in the cabin. Yesterday, she'd been claimed, but the night had been spent in cold silence between her and Percy. He was definitely irritated at having a half sister.

Today, in the morning, Adonis Lane, son of Eros had arrived at camp. Strange; she had not been informed about this.

Percy nodded, reassured. "Yeah, it's a common thing for us demigods. And for a child of the Big Three…"

His gaze fell upon the pen in her hand. "What's that?"

Alex followed his eyes to Shockwave. "Oh, this? This is…" she racked her brain for an excuse. She wasn't going to tell him all about it. "I got it from my mother."

Percy looked unconvinced. He pulled out a similar-looking pen from his pocket. No; the exact same pen, except it was tinted bronze. "I have this."

Alex stared at it. It was impossible. She'd known that he had a signature sword, but this was too similar to her own. "Can I see?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.

He looked a little surprised, but held it out to her. She uncapped it, like she did with Shockwave. It turned into the exact same Greek blade, except it was bronze. Percy raised an eyebrow. "Cool, huh?"

In answer, Alex held up her own pen and uncapped it, turning it into the platinum version of his own sword.

Percy's eyes widened. "What the-"

"I know." She handed him his blade. "What do you call it?"

"Anaklusmos. Riptide. And you?"

"Shockwave."

"Does it have a Greek name?"

Alex looked at him in the eye, her sea-green eyes meeting his.

"Kasfluctus."

 _Line Break_

The next morning at breakfast, Malcolm noticed with amusement that the Poseidon Half-siblings were actually sitting together, where the previous day they'd sat at opposite ends of the table.

His eyes travelled around, and stopped at Adonis. He was sitting at the Aphrodite table, as an Eros cabin had not been built. Chiron had told him to stay at Aphrodite temporarily, and if he felt extremely uncomfortable, to report to him. In the meantime, he would think about what to do about Adonis's…situation.

Breakfast was a casual affair, about thirty or so campers. The four kids at Aphrodite (Adonis excluded) chatted amongst themselves, giggling about the latest camp gossip. Three Ares kids laughed and fist-bumped each other. At Malcolm's own table, two girls discussed an outspread war map. A lone demigod at Hecate was levitating at her seat. Will, Nico, and the new seventeen-year-old Liam Raven talked quietly at Apollo.

As soon as everyone finished eating, Chiron stomped his hooves against the grounds, bringing the demigods to attention. He cleared his throat.

"Campers! I have important news." Now he had their undivided attention. "Though the communication systems are still mysteriously unequipped, I have received word from Camp Jupiter. Our prophetess, Rachel Dare, will be arriving with information not fit to be shared over messages. She should be arriving…" He checked his watch. "…about now."

There was silence for a few moments. Then, it was disturbed by the unmistakable sound of rotating chopper blades. A helicopter was seen landing somewhere in the woods, and some time later, Rachel, flanked by a blond boy, emerged.

There was some cheering as they came, and Percy got up excitedly. "Marcus!"

The boy nodded at him, but his face was grave. They duo approached the breakfast area and Rachel addressed the demigods. "Hello, everyone. This is Centurion Marcus. And…" she took a deep breath. "I have news."

 _So do we,_ Malcolm thought.

Chiron nodded and gestured at them to sit at the stone benches for the camp director and visitors. "Welcome, child. It's a pleasure to have you here, centurion."

Rachel nodded tensely. "As you all know, I had decided to spend time at Camp Jupiter in an attempt to recreate some old prophecies with the aid of Ella, who has somehow memorized the Sibylline Books. And, unfortunately, we recovered something."

There was a confused silence from the demigods, and the Roman Centurion's face had turned stony.

"What is it?" Percy asked in a hushed whisper.

Rachel looked at him, her expression sad.

"We have a prophecy."


	6. Twin Blades Shall Complete The Curse

**I'm trying really hard for this story and desperately need you guys to review it. PLEASE! I can promise that you won't be bored…there's going to be a lot of grisly deaths and angst and myths, and it's going to be better once you reach the part where Alex's 'secret' is revealed.**

 **And can anyone guess who her teacher/stepmother is? It's actually pretty obvious in this chapter.**

"So, Rachel," Chiron said. "What exactly is the wording of the prophecy?"

Rachel and Marcus had sat down on the stone bench, and a cup of coffee had been placed in Rachel's hands. It did not seem to be a particularly good idea, as the prophetess was already hyperactive.

"I think I should, um, tell you… _privately?"_ she spoke hesitantly.

"The demigods deserve to hear it," Chiron said. "After all, they are the ones who will execute the quest."

Rachel took a shaky breath. Whatever the prophecy was, it was clear that it alarmed her. Percy thought that she'd never looked that panicked since their quest in the Labyrinth, when they had been captured by Luke's army.

She exhaled. "Fair enough.

' _It thus begins with resurrection,_

 _The huntress, the celestials, the lover, and deception,_

 _A change of rules; the curse of the Styx,_

 _Three for a quest; blood thus shall mix,_

 _Twin blades shall complete the curse,_

 _The fall of the sun, the final verse.'_

Chiron was white. In all his years of training, Percy had never, ever seen him so scared, not in the Titan War, not when Gaia rose. But his face now held raw fear, as plain as a drop of blood on a carpet of snow. But all Percy could think of was the line of the prophecy.

 _Twin blades shall complete the curse._

He looked at Alex. She was looking longingly at the Hecate table, her face a mixture of homesickness and pain. Before he could stop himself, the words pulled themselves out of his mouth.

"Alex, your sword."

The area had been completely silent, and Percy's words reverberated through, as clear as a spring of fresh water. Everyone looked at the Poseidon table.

Alex looked startled, and realization dawned on her face. She flashed him a look of irritation, but she had no choice now. She reached into her pocket and hesitantly pulled out Shockwave.

At the same time as her, Percy uncapped Riptide, and both the swords gleamed in the sunlight, bronze and steel.

No…Platinum.

If possible, Chiron's face turned even more shocked and afraid. "No," he whispered.

Rachel looked as if she were about to pass out.

A moment later, the centaur trainer regained his composure, though his face was still fragile. "This...this calls for a quest." He looked a little lost. "I must go," he muttered to himself and trotted towards the direction of the Big House, leaving behind thirty extremely confused demigods.

"Counselors," he turned his head back at them. "We shall have a meeting in the Big House today. Oh, and Percy," he looked at the son of Poseidon distractedly. "Bring Alex."

 _Line Break_

Nico traced the length of his sword as he waited in the throne room, wondering why he had been summoned. His uncanny observation had found a second opinion, and he couldn't decide whether it was a good thing or bad thing. So he replayed his talk with Malcolm, finding nothing better to do.

They'd been sitting and watching Percy and Alex as they practiced their swordplay skills against each other, bath having a look of passionate concentration on their faces. It was the day Adonis had been claimed. He found Malcolm surprisingly easy to be with; his wise gray eyes and his observant expression made him all the more trustworthy for Nico.

It was the son of Athena who broke the silence. "Alex fights surprisingly well for someone who has never been trained."

Nico nodded. " _Too_ well, I should say. Even Clarisse never lasts against Percy for this long."

"Hm. Maybe she learned it from somewhere."

"That good? It doesn't seem like that to me."

Malcolm was silent for some time. Then he said in a low voice, "You think she got all those features from her father? Do all children of Poseidon look that similar?"

Nico glanced at him sharply. "Maybe, but Percy got his cheekbones and nose from his mother. Poseidon's nose is not quite so elegant. Alex…well, somehow she has those features too."

The blond demigod squinted. "Maybe Poseidon chose a woman who was closer in looks to Percy's mom."

"That isn't very likely."

Malcolm cut a sideways look at him. "You see it too, don't you?"

Nico didn't say anything for a moment.

 _I wonder if all children of Poseidon are that way._

"They're really alike," they both said at the same time.

"Nico?" A deep, rich voice shook him out of his thoughts.

He looked up and blinked. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he had not even noticed his father's silent entry into the throne room.

He bowed. "You, summoned me, father?"

Hades nodded. "Yes."

"It is the middle of the night. It surely must be something urgent that you whisk me directly to your palace?"

Hades was blunt in his answer, not delivering it in the subtle way her delivered death to so many mortals. "The harpy, Ella, and Rachel Dare have discovered something. Something lost and ancient. A prophecy."

"Why has Chiron not been informed yet? Why must I know of this?"

The god shifted in his seat. The gesture was small, furtive, yet Nico's brow furrowed. The Lord of the Dead, his father, uneasy? That must be a first.

"What is it?" he said, his voice turning hoarse of its own accord.

"We…may have encountered a problem."

"Which is?"

His father had a brooding expression. "I believe I told you about your sister's choice of rebirth."

Nico flinched. "Is this about Bianca again?"

Hades raised his hand. "This is just to tell you the truth, Nico. Your sister did not…truly…choose rebirth."

He looked up, his eyes as sharp as daggers. "What do you mean?"

Hades' hand drifted in a small movement, a vague gesture. "It was a sort of…comeback."

"I believe that is what rebirth is, father." His voice was filled with dry humor.

"I…it is rare." He said. "But it has something to do with a stirring of ancient powers. Something even I have not seen in millennia. But…she would not remember, I think."

Nico considered, concerning his father, whether all these centuries of dealing with ghostly traffic had finally gotten to him. "I do not understand."

"Of course you wouldn't." Hades looked disturbed. "Yet, be warned, my son. Bianca dwells in another's body now. Not rebirth. Just…something like bonding. Inside an anomalous new half-breed. And…tell Chiron Rachel Dare will be arriving at Camp Half-Blood tomorrow. You must be strong."

"What?" the son of Hades felt confusion and curiosity clouding his thoughts, as a deathly dark mist surrounded him, darkening his vision. "What does that mean?"

"Remember…she will not be the only one."

Before Nico could say anything, the mist swallowed him up, and everything went black.

 **Yay! Minor cliffhanger! I know all of us PJO fans are affected enough by these little gems.**

 **Hope you like it! R n R!**


	7. Ancient One of Heaven

**I really enjoy writing this, and you hope you like reading it as much. Enjoy!**

The faces of the head counselors were serious and afraid as they settled on Chiron. Alex wondered whether their expressions were the same every time a prophecy was issued. Or they had all picked up on Chiron's mood. The way the leader's face was telltale.

Or if this one was enough to sow seeds of unease in all of them.

She didn't know where a 'guest' was supposed to sit, so she squeezed herself between Percy and Malcolm. The green-eyed- demigod's face was passive, and the son of Athena looked a little wary, so she settled for studying the campers till the meeting started.

As she absentmindedly bounced a ping-pong ball on the table, Alex wondered how these meetings worked.

The girl from Hecate, the one who had been levitating at breakfast, was apparently named Lou Ellen. Sherman Yang for Ares cabin, Mitchell for the goddess of love (apparently Piper McLean and her subordinate Drew Tanaka were at their parents' place), and Will Solace and Nico di Angelo for Apollo and Hades respectively. Adonis Lane was there too, for the singleton Eros (currently non-existent) cabin. Cameron Gray for Morpheus, Butch for Iris, Holly and Laurel Victor for Nike, Paolo Montes for Hebe, and Ciara Burrows for Nemesis.

Wow. That was a lot of names. Adding Percy Jackson and Malcolm Pace, Alex decided that there were about twenty cabins. More would definitely be needed.

Chiron wrung his hands as he looked at Percy and her, then at the table. "The prophecy Rachel has issued is quite…disturbing. The Oracle was believed to be unusable due to the war with the Romans, as Iris Messages were, but it is apparently not so. The cave at Delphi is being…held hostage….by Apollo's old enemy, the monster Python. But it appears that the destiny can be unfolded only by a demigod working with him." He stopped and sighed, and murmured, "I hate how these things work."

Alex believed that the demigods couldn't have agreed more.

"But back to the prophecy," Rachel said, leaning onto the table. "It obviously involves Percy and Alex."

The old centaur winced.

"Yes. But most of the prophecy has not yet been translated, so I believe that we must wait a month or so to see how things turn out." He spoke carefully.

And yet his placating voice was in vain as a chorus of voices broke out in protest all around the table.

"But Chiron!"

"That's not how-"

"-these things work-"

"-we cannot wait-"

"The prophecy is obviously-"

"-dangerous-"

"Stop." Surprisingly, it was Malcolm who had spoken. He stood up and spread his hands in a _calm down_ gesture. Perhaps it was unusual for a student to come to the defense of his teacher. "It is best that we hear Chiron out. Only after that can we come to a conclusion ourselves."

Holly Victor glared at him. "That's against the _ancient laws,_ son of _Athena."_

Malcolm returned her glare effectively with one of his own. "Not all of us are three thousand years old, Victor."

Percy held up his hands, and Alex noticed that he had gone white around the mouth. "It's better to not fight amongst ourselves."

Alex felt his fear; it was palpable on his face. She wondered what it was all about, when the camp's Oracle's words came to her and her mind went numb.

 _It obviously involves Percy and Alex._

Of course.

She felt betrayal coursing through her as she looked at the ping-pong balls on the table.

Chiron chose that crucial moment to speak. "Alex and Percy must decide their company in this quest. It is dangerous, I can assure- I mean, tell you, and they must have at least a month's time before they leave for their _perilous_ adventure. The gods must be with them."

The _gods_.

That was the last straw for the daughter of Poseidon.

Alex got up, fury burning through her, and all the voices stopped.

She looked at the centaur, her fists clenched tightly together. "I see with what courtesy even a new camper is treated here." She growled, feeling a strange cold, pressurized feeling spreading through her. As if she only had a part of the control over her voice. "By sending them on one of their precious _quests."_

Percy drew in a sharp breath next to her.

"Αυτό είναι το πώς αντιμετωπίζει μια ουράνια;" She hissed, her tone mocking and questioning. "I am amazed."

Chiron looked at her in utter shock.

She turned sharply and walked out of the room.

 _Line Break_

Adonis's red and onyx gaze followed Alex as she stormed out of the room. Chiron still sat stiff and white-faced at the head, for reasons not even the son of Eros could decipher. For all he knew, all kinds of quests- or prophecies, granted-were dangerous, but this one seemed especially sinister and ancient by the sound of it.

And 'sinister' and 'ancient' together for demigods meant, 'shit, we're screwed.'

Percy Jackson looked back at his raven-haired half-sister, and when he turned back, his face betrayed more concern and worry than the son of Poseidon might've liked.

"What did that mean?" Marcus, the Roman demigod, asked. "That was Greek, right? I speak Latin, not that."

"It was Greek," Chiron whispered, his voice hoarse and a little amazed. "Just a really ancient version, one of magic. Some of you might get the gist of it."

Cameron Gray from Morpheus frowned. "I've heard bits of that before…"

Lou Ellen nodded in consent. "So have I."

The white-haired son of the god of desire turned to Percy, sensing his anxiety and anger at the non-mention of his sister. "Someone should go after her. I mean, from what I've heard, she is sort of new too."

Percy parted his lips to respond, but the son of Athena beat him to it. "I'll go." Said Malcolm, as he stood up. "I'll talk to her."

The green-eyed demigod nest to him shot him a grateful look as Adonis leaned back in his chair, trying to grasp the meaning of Alex's words.

 _Line Break_

Alex sat by the lake, the happenings of the past hour still clinging to her brain, rushing through her thoughts like an icy tide.

The moon sat in its rightful place in the sky, on its throne of stars. The meeting had taken long, though to her, it seemed like the blink of an eye. She wanted nothing more than to sit and think, to clear her mind and make sense of what she herself had spoken. It seemed trivial, but the words had rushed out of her mouth before she knew it, like she was possessed. And yet, she did not even _know_ what she'd said.

And what better place to sit than at the coast?

She found the place oddly comforting; perhaps it came with being a daughter of the sea god. Her father had not visited her often, and even then she knew it was the god's own way of protecting her, offering her comfort through his domain.

But she had been lied to.

Her trainer had _clearly_ told her it was going to be an in-and-out job. But now she was wrapped up in this _quest._ No matter how she felt about it, she would have to execute it along with her brother.

Her brother.

She had not liked Percy much, admittedly, wondering how Poseidon could have two children. Then she had been told the truth, and she'd been like _oh._

She knew of his quests, and of his friends' quests; it had been part of the 'course'. Though she knew everything since Zeus's master bolt had been stolen to the Prophecy of Seven, she did not know any of their back stories. The Romans had been mild surprise; she had sort of suspected that.

"You okay?"

She turned her head at the sound of the Athena head counselor's voice. He had walked up to her silently, and now his eyes asked permission to sit. She shrugged a little; indicating that she was okay/he could sit.

He sat.

"That was some serious language you used back there. Everyone's wondering what you meant." He spoke suggestively, implying that he, too, was curious.

She sighed and looked at the horizon, hugging her knees. "I'm not sure about what I said."

He nodded, his gray eyes turned towards the horizon as well. "Why were you so…disturbed?"

Alex remained silent.

Malcolm got the cue and changed the subject. After a beat of silence, his sudden question caught her off-guard. "Who was your mom?"

She hesitated, wondering what to say. "A great person. Multilingual, trained well in all kinds of weapons and martial arts. She passed that on to me."

"I meant your real mother, not your stepmother."

She drew in a sharp breath, and turned her eyes to his face, finding his gray eyes trained on hers. "What do you mean?"

"I got it in a dream."

She felt a blush creeping onto her face under the intensity of his gaze. Admittedly, the son of Athena was quite fine-looking. "I was told that you could be trusted."

He nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. "I can."

"Then what did I say? Back…there?"

He hesitated, yet his eyes still held hers. "I didn't get it completely. But..."

She raised her eyebrows.

"You said, ' _Is this your behavior with one of heaven?'"_

She swallowed back he taste of bile in her mouth. "Oh gods."

He nodded a little. "Yeah."

They sat in tense silence for a moment.

Malcolm broke it. "So what's your story?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"You know, your _past."_

Alex looked into his eyes once again, to find the beautiful gray irises filled with hope and trust and faith.

She took a deep breath, and told him everything.

 **The full meaning of the Greek words Alex spoke will be revealed later; they are crucial to the quest.**


	8. Secrets Unveiled

**Hey, look who is back! I really missed this, and I'm kind of sad from the lack of reviews. But the thing is, reviews really help motivate me as I'm kind of a lazy update-once-in-a-month writer.**

 **And a shout out to my she-who-must-not-be-named friend who helped me with the prophecy and gave me the idea of the most crucial line, 'twin blades shall complete the curse', because really, she asked me not to name her.**

 **So? Review, pretty, Aphrodite pretty please?**

She ran as fast as she could, what with the dead weight of her friend over her shoulder. Her other, male friend-or guide, from what he claimed-ran in front of her, almost too fast for it to be possible. From what she'd seen in school, he'd had a disease in his legs from a young age, and required crutches wherever he went. Now, though, he ran like it was falafel day in the school cafeteria.

His baggy trousers were cut in a million places, from when they'd been attacked by those weird mega serpents with crazy rotating horns-what had Mr. Leg Disease called them?-right, _cerastes._ They had been extremely flexible and in control, which was strange for, well, already strange creatures.

The 'guide/protector/leg disease guy' friend had told them of a camp, which was where they were going, running from some more of those snakes. Her own long auburn hair was coming undone from its braid, and her currently-being-carried female friend's fiery dark red strands were flying into her face. Some of her hair blew into her face as she prepared to jump a fallen log, and she realized her mistake too late.

Her foot caught on the tree root and she fell flat on her face, the air being knocked out of her lungs. Her female friend rolled onto the ground, still unconscious.

The auburn-haired sixteen year old groaned as she sat up, finding the leg disease friend whirl back in alarm, staring at her with wide eyes.

No, not at her.

Behind her.

She sucked in a sharp breath as she turned around, slowly and tentatively, trying to ignore the sinking, and cold feeling in her stomach. Her eyes met the dark of the woods, and a pair of sinister yellow eyes with slit pupils stared back into hers. _Shit._

She blinked back the dryness in her eyes as she slowly rose to her feet, and started backing up ever so slowly. A few steps later, her right sneaker landed on something brittle-feeling. Deciding against moving her foot, she stepped on it.

 _Crack._

 _Double fuck,_ she thought as she realized it had been a fallen twig. As if in a blur, everything seemed to slow down as the monsters slimy, reptilian body lashed out at her, its silvery-gray horns gleaming like knives.

 _Knives._

Her mind responded with lightning speed, her hands only milliseconds slower. Her fingers closed around the handles of two throwing knives she'd slid into her belt after her male friend-whom she just realized had goat hooves-had given her after the earlier monster attack.

The serpent hissed and bared its fangs, pulling back and throwing itself forward to attack. Her arms moved as if on their own, both moving in perfect synchronization as the knives freed themselves from her hold and jerked forward, one embedding itself into the monster's eye, the other slicing through its horn.

The snake hissed and exploded into yellow dust, settling over the forest floor. She breathed out a sigh of relief as she let down her arms, and then the burning hit her.

Her right calf was letting out a stream of thick red blood, the jeans leg torn. It hurt like someone had set fire to it, like acid eating at her flesh. Frowning through her dizziness, she looked at the sticking tree root over which she had stumbled.

Yellow dust had taken its place.

The monster's other head.

The last thing she heard was the leg disease friend calling her name as the darkness closed around her.

 _Line Break_

She was starting to grow on Percy.

And by she, he meant the Daughter of Poseidon, Alex Shaw, even though he'd never say that out loud. They both shared a love of swimming and swordplay, and not just because of their similar parentage. The fact that he loved her sense of humor; and her sarcastic comments and comebacks, which reminded him weirdly enough of Annabeth, were admired by even the children of Hermes.

When she stormed off, no not literally, in the middle of the meeting, Percy felt a worry in his heart that confirmed the fact that the raven-haired girl, his half-sister, had made a special place for herself in his heart. Alex was a loyal and true hero under her cocky and biting cover, and it told Percy that he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.

He liked that he wasn't completely alone in his cabin now, and that he completely and wholly enjoyed her company, and he respected that the fact that she was almost as good as he at sword fighting did not give her arrogance. It actually benefited him, as she was definitely the second-best in the camp, and he finally had a good partner to spar with. Frankly, Percy Jackson considered Alex Shaw an amazingly skilled and well-equipped with humor, demigod.

He was still confused and a little jealous of her existence, as his father, The Earthshaker, had personally told him that his mother was a 'Queen among women', offered her a palace and the gift of immortality, and still decided to have a fling with another woman, and have another demigod kid so mind-shatteringly close to Percy's own age. Maybe even _his exact age._

Malcolm had surely done his placating job well, though; as Alex entered the cabin three doorway, a little white-faced and kind of breathless, not even bothering to bang the door shut behind her as she sat down next to Percy.

He frowned. "You…okay? You ran all the way here?"

She shrugged a little, drawing her brows together. "I was at the lake."

Percy nodded in understanding. He went to that place multiple times when he was upset; it seemed that that place called to all the children of Poseidon. "Yeah. Malcolm met you there?"

She hesitated before nodding slowly, and then something like realization dawned on her face. "Oh, I almost forgot. There's a commotion at the pavilion; apparently two new demigods have been guided here today. Running from a cerastes, it seems. Oh, by the way, I was wondering if you'd like to go canoeing tomorrow morning, while Chiron watches over the new demigods. I wanted to…talk to you."

Percy looked at the ceiling and nodded before rushing out of the cabin, Alex at his heels, calling his name. It seemed that a lot of demigods were finding their way here in this week. The gods must be feeling generous these days.

He breathed in the fresh night air before turning back and walking into the cabin again, not feeling so hungry now.

 _Great time to be generous,_ Percy thought, almost snorting out loud, _Right after you give us a prophecy about death and curses and the dead rising from their grave._

It was so pathetic, that if it had been a real war, they would've had a Pyrrhic victory.

 _Line Break_

Alex sat uncertainly in the boat, wondering how to tell Percy the…thing…she was about to tell him. Malcolm had gone white, then had sighed and told her to tell her brother, when she related her life to him. She wasn't sure Percy would like what she had to tell him.

They had had fun canoeing, getting up early, walking through camp when only a couple campers were awake. They had laughed and joked as they pulled the oars, enjoying the warm sunshine and the calmness of the morning fog. Almost feeling like they were normal siblings on a normal day.

Then Alex decided it was time.

"Percy?"

He looked up at her, eyes shining with mirth, quickly turning into a frown as he noticed her serious expression. "Something wrong?"

She dug her teeth into her lower lip. "I wanted to tell you something…something about my… _name."_

" _Your name?"_

"Um, yeah."

He looked uncertain. "Okay."

She leaned back a little as she pulled on the oars. "It's not, um, it's not Alex Shaw."

Percy laughed, shaking his head a little as he leaned forward, pushing his oars. "I thought so. Whatever you may say, I know it's Alexis. Don't worry, though. I hate being called by my fall name too."

She raised her eyebrows.

He shrugged. "Seriously, though, that's all you wanted to talk about? Not like I'm not enjoying this, though. It has been a lot of time since I spent some good time with a close friend. Even though you're technically my half-sister."

Alex clenched and unclenched her jaw, feeling frustration setting in. "That's what I wanted to talk about. I'm _not_ you're half-sister."

He simply raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "That's hilarious."

She huffed in exasperation. "It's not a joke."

"Then you must really hate me."

She leaned forward, pushing the oars. "My name is…Alex-"

"Shaw, I know." He leaned back, pulling. "I'm getting irritated now."

She sighed. "I'm Alex Jackson. You sister. Your twin sister. Your _full-blooded_ sister."

Percy must've been surprised; because he leaned so far back he fell into the lake.

He came up, gasping in shock, his eyes disbelieving as he climbed back into the canoe. "Liar."

She shook her head. "No. And that's not all."

He leaned forward, curiosity and still-receding shock swirling in his sea-green eyes. "Then tell me." He said, pulling back. "Tell me everything."

 **Ta-da! Who was expecting this? Read and review and I love you guys.**

 **PWT**


	9. Eyes That Change From Ash To Pitch

**You guys may or may not be excited for getting to know the rest of the secrets, but I am HYPED up about regaling them! And just so you know, this chapter does not consist of all the hidden secrets. Only, like, one-fifth (cackles evilly).**

Alex threaded her fingers together as she told Percy what her life had been like.

"You were born first," Alex said; her voice uncharacteristically soft. "Poseidon was there. He wanted to take you, but our _birth mother_ loved you so much, he couldn't bear to rob her of her happiness."

Percy frowned. "Why did he want to take _any_ of us?"

"Same principle as in the separation of Jason and Thalia Grace. No, it wasn't that I was Roman or something, but we were Big Three material. It was too dangerous, too risky, to keep us together, in one place. And…" she hesitated, remembering the conversation she's eavesdropped on. "There was something about a myth, a legend coming true."

Her brother's sea green eyes widened in realization. "The prophecy."

She shrugged helplessly. "Maybe so. But anyway, when I came, Poseidon took me and wiped or biological mother's memory of me." Her voice turned bitter. "I wasn't so loved. But he needed help o hide a demigod as powerful as a child of the eldest gods. But he needed someone who was smart enough to listen to his reasoning, and yet wouldn't draw suspicion."

"He called a god."

Alex nodded. "Two, in fact. Hecate, to hide me in the depths of her Mist, and an unlikely ally."

Percy raised his eyebrows in question.

"Athena."

His eyebrows shot up.

"As she was a sworn rival of our father, she was not to be suspected of aiding him. But she realized the seriousness of the situation, and figured, because of the First Great Prophecy, that if she raised a 'half blood of the eldest gods' herself, she could compel the hero to make the decision to save Olympus. She wanted me to be the child of the prophecy."

He grunted. "So that's why she seemed to be s eager to get rid of me. So that she could use you to manipulate the prophecy herself."

His twin sister gave him an apologetic smile. "She took me to the Tritonian nymphs, and trained me from birth in the same way Athena herself was, and treated me like her own child. She taught me the art of all kinds of weapons, how to behave in any situation, how to attack and defend. She wanted me to be perfect. I was taught to converse in sixteen different languages, millions of myths and legends, and not just Greek and Roman ones."

Percy laughed darkly. "She wanted you to be an honest to Zeus _Mary Sue."_

She sighed. Unfortunately, it was true. "Norse. Egyptian. Chinese. Cherokee, even. I wasn't allowed to even eat fried food."

His eyes widened. "So, you've never had…"

"A cheeseburger? No."

He winced, like it hurt him. "Remind me to take you to McHale's sometime."

She grinned. "Sure. So, they appointed me as an assassin, to kill rogue demigods or basically anyone who they needed to…terminate. I was kept hidden from everyone but the nymphs, our father, my stepmother and Hecate. Even when she was against the gods in the Titan War, she kept me a secret because she understood the consequences of not doing so. Because of the prophecy, I guess. A stirring of ancient powers."

Percy nodded, indicating that he was still with her. "Okay."

"I killed a bunch of demigod, too." Her tone turned sad and regretful. "Some monsters got to know of my presence. I don't know how. Some almost killed me. Athena used that to her advantage by entering me as a chess piece spy into Kronos's ranks. I was pretty close to being Luke Castellan's second in command until you blew up Hephaestus's forges. I had to run before they could sense the sea in my blood as it was in yours."

Percy nodded, a little curious as shown by his expression. "Whom did you kill?"

She shook her head guardedly. "I shouldn't say. It will hurt you, and go against my stepmother's instructions."

He nodded, still looking unconvinced. "I understand Athena's idea of training you. But she _does_ love you, right?"

Alex's shoulders tensed. "It is…a competitive sort of love."

The raven haired demigod opposite her frowned. "What?"

"As rivals, Poseidon and Athena wanted to be better than each other at everything. Unluckily for me, it included being adored by me." She pressed her lips together as she twirled a strand of her dark hair. "They love me only to beat each other at earning my favoritism. I was never truly loved as a daughter, only as a prize."

She felt Percy's penetrating gaze on her as she lifted her head. She frowned at his soft expression. "What?"

"Nothing." He smiled softly at her. "Just to say that you will be loved now. As a sister."

Alex blinked in surprise, but before she could say anything, Percy lifted his head and looked behind her. "We're at the docks." He said.

They exited the canoe, leaving it tied at the shore. Percy nodded at her and turned around, already moving to the breakfast pavilion.

Alex didn't hesitate this time as she followed him there.

 _Line Break_

Nico di Angelo stared at the new girls the young satyr had guided to camp as they sat uncomfortably next to Chiron, apparently uneasy. One of them was tall and strong, built like a soccer player with muscular yet slim arms. Her hair was a fiery red, her skin pale but healthy.

It was her eyes that intrigued him the most. They were amethyst and blue, like someone had taken glass shards of the two colors and mixed them together, equal parts of both in her eyes, yet spread across on fragments.

The other was a little shorter than her, maybe two inches or so. She was lithe and graceful, her long auburn hair tied back in a casual ponytail, yet her posture was erect and guarded, which reminded him a little bit of Reyna, who was by now his established sister-in-arms.

Her eyes were as breathtaking as her friend's. They were a beautiful silvery yellow, like ash, or moonlight sparking off a blade. Something about her seemed extremely familiar to Nico, yet he couldn't pinpoint what it was. The line of her posture was eerily similar to that of a leopard's, graceful yet dangerous.

When the demigods' breakfast was eaten and most of the chattering had died down, Chiron rose to horse form and addressed the campers.

"As most of you know, Dave Cedar, pass-bearing protector," he gestured to a blond, curly haired satyr next to him. "has guided two new demigods to camp as of yesterday night. I wish to introduce to you the new unclaimed campers, whom I wish you will treat as fellow demigods, Andronika Cade," Chiron said as the red haired girl stood up, "and-"

The auburn haired girl cut him off with a wave. Nico raised his eyebrows. It was not common to interrupt a three thousand year old centaur, trainer of heroes, especially when you were a newbie. Chiron seemed to have the same thoughts running through his mind as he looked at her with his expression questioning.

"I think redhead Andy there is an Ares," Will whispered to him from beside him. "She seems cruel."

Nico gave him a wry smile. "Well, at least she isn't power packed with muscles. She could be Athena."

The blond boy shook his head. "She's not blond or gray-eyed. I say Ares or Demeter. You know the nature friendly aura."

Nico smirked at him. "My bet is on Hermes or Hecate."

The son of Apollo snickered under his breath. "You're on."

The dark haired demigod smiled and turned his attention back to the auburn haired girl. She seemed to be whispering something to Chiron. He frowned, but gave her a curt nod as if consenting to something. The girl smiled and got up. "My name," she said. "Is Celena. Celena Natasha Kyle." She looked at the centaur, as if probing him with her eyes.

He exhaled. "She wishes to stay with the satyrs and be allowed to be without a counselor." Chiron's eyes held discomfort as he spoke. "And I ask the Hermes cabin's head counselor to escort Andronika to their cabin."

Will looked at his boyfriend with a quizzical look. Nico shrugged and turned his eyes back to the interesting new Miss Celena Kyle as she smiled at her friend, and let her eyes rake the crowd.

Her silvery eyes stopped on Nico's, and he could almost feel the intensity and weight of her sharp gaze. Her eyes held his for a moment before a small smile curved her lips and she looked away.

The son of Hades swallowed. He turned back to Will and nudged him as the blond turned to him, grinning at a joke his cabin mate had probably made. He raised his gold eyebrows, blue eyes probing black ones as he frowned. _What's wrong?_ He mouthed.

Nico shook his head to fight down his growing unease as he involuntarily glanced at the Poseidon table, where Percy and Alex were talking quietly, occasionally passing each other witty remarks or humorous comments, Alex seeming more at ease and at home and the half siblings seeming even closer. Something must have happened, Nico thought as he turned his gaze to the only blonds Athena table, where two girls discussed something animatedly, seemingly engage in war plans or strategy discussion for Capture the Flag.

Their head counselor, however, did not seem interested. He sat thoughtfully in his place, his gray eyes occasionally wandering to the Poseidon table as he looked at the green eyed daughter of the sea god, something obviously on his mind. Nico smiled mentally. He didn't have to be a child of Aphrodite to know that something was going on.

Speaking of children of Aphrodite. Adonis Lane studied a silver arrowhead as he sat silently in his place, the other Cabin 10 members gossiping away. His red eyes caught Nico's gaze, and he gave him a razor sharp smile, like a knife blade, before turning his attention back to the arrowhead.

Nico mentally admitted that the white-haired son of Eros was intimidating as he noticed another pair of eyes on him. He looked at Celena Natasha Kyle's silvery yellow eyes as they burned into his black ones, when she blinked and what Nico saw made him take in a sharp breath.

He sharply turned away as his heart thudded against his rib cage. Her eyes…her eyes.

When she blinked, Nico could've sworn they changed color.

One moment he was looking into silver irises.

Another moment they were black as pitch, dark as the folds of his father's helm.

Dark as his own.

 **So there you go! Who do you think is Andronika's or Celena's godly parent? Especially Celena. Do you think hers is Hades? Gasp! Who could it be? Leave your opinion in the reviews, and if someone guesses correctly I'll PM them a secret.**

 **Gods, I can be such a drama queen sometimes.**

 **But please, please review! You guys make me so happy when you do.**


	10. One To New Friends

Alex was no stranger to disappointment. She'd been reprimanded by Athena at _least_ millions of times. Getting a translation wrong, losing a sparring match with a nymph, not completing a lap in the record time, not getting a sword maneuver, or even not having the correct defensive stance was a reason for disappointment to the goddess of wisdom and war. Alex was supposed to be _perfect_ , and she got that. She understood the importance of being flawless, especially when it concerned a prophecy as important as the one involving the Titan Lord's rise from the Pit.

But this, this was different.

This made her feel insecure.

She stood a little away from the crowd, unsure how to pick up a topic, or do something that would make her welcome. She'd heard the rumors; that she was a pawn of the gods, that she was an instrument to invite the wrath of another _protogenoi_ , a primordial, and thus the apocalypse.

She didn't know to what extent it was actually true.

Alex had worked as an undercover spy for Athena and Poseidon before, getting recruited into Kronos's ranks as a child of a minor god, she's even worked in a high school where supposedly there had been an _empousai_ infestation. Goode, she thought the name was. But she had never, _ever_ expected making your rep in a demigod camp would be this hard.

She was already a week old camper, and usually she would be part of the crowd by now, impressing them with her extreme skill with the weaponry, her undefeatable way with the sword and her absolutely _unmatchable_ wit. But the new prophecy (she had reason to believe it was another Great Prophecy) had almost completely ruined her chances with the demigods, who thought it was entirely her fault, what with being a child of the Big Three and all. Everyone either hated her, or was scared of her, or in worst case scenarios, both.

Now the only people she could hang out with were Percy, who was her brother and seemed intent on being a great sibling by bombarding her with old stories and corny jokes he'd learned from Leo Valdez; Malcolm Pace, who had been the first person she'd told her past, and seemed to trust her and was a cool person to hang out with, and, well, herself.

It was kind of ironic how the people who had guided her to camp seemed to be the only ones willing to spend time with her. She had talked to Nico di Angelo, but not about her past, only making small talk with the quite antisocial son of Hades. And now, as Percy was with Chiron on some 'urgent' business, and Malcolm was guiding his duo-consisting Cabin through a session of wall climbing, she was left alone at the arena to, as Percy childishly put it, 'make new friends'.

If only he had been in place of her right now.

Alex gulped visibly and made her way over a daughter of Aphrodite, Lacy, she thought her name was, and started with a simple, "Hey."

The girl yelped as she turned around, apparently nervous at seeing her. "Hi." She said in a meek tone.

Alex tried for a smile, but it ended up in looking like a snarl, so she dropped her façade of utmost politeness. "Gods. I hate doing this. But, well, you obviously know who I am, and are not comfortable around me, but would you like to spar?"

Lacy swallowed, and moved her head from side to side, her blond pigtails bouncing. "We-well, I'd _love_ to, but the thing is…" she trailed off, looking unsure as she swept her gaze over the crowd. Her face brightened as she noticed something in the distance. "I gotta go! Michelle's calling me, probably some cleaning work."

She gave her an overenthusiastic smile with her pink braces, and jogged off.

Alex sighed and rolled her eyes. It was no secret to camp that the Aphrodite kids hated cleaning, so Lacy's excuse had been extremely see-through, and now the raven haired demigod had no idea what to do next.

Just as she was about to go over to an Apollo camper and try her luck, a laugh sounded behind her. She turned with narrowed eyes, determined to fix whatever camper had been amused at her hopeless conversation, but stopped, confused, when Adonis Lane's face came into view. The arena had emptied out as it was getting dark outside, so it was just them.

He smiled at her, his red eyes sparkling with amusement. So far, he had seemed to be the only camper who neither hated nor feared her, but was simply intrigued. He gave her a curt nod before he picked up a shortsword and hefted it up, gripping its leather bound hilt with both hands as he positioned himself in front of her. "Seems like you're having trouble making acquaintances. Don't worry; Lacy's just very…jittery."

Alex cocked an eyebrow and uncapped Shockwave, which turned into a three foot platinum sword. "It looks like you're not." She said, smirking.

He shrugged, a grin splitting his face, making it seem almost demonic, nothing like the scared boy who had shown up at camp a few days ago. "I'm a special case."

"Ah." She nodded in approval as she charged him, and he moved to block her strike as their blades clashed, sparking. "Nice choice of words, Lane."

He gave her a cocky smirk. "Last name basis already? Well, then, that's quite sexy, _Shaw."_

She blinked in confusion before remembering it was her cover name. "What can I say? Aphrodite loved me so much she gave me some of her sharp genes. Purely sexy-based, of course."

This surprised a laugh out of him, as he feinted towards her right. She saw right through his move as she took a step close, invading his personal space, raising her sword over his arm but he moved his blade to intercept hers mid-move. "I approve, sweetheart."

"Everyone loves a green eyed demigod candy." She winked at him. "Just don't mean my brother dear."

Now, she honestly liked Percy but it was alright making a little fun of him to get to flirt lightly with the hottest boy at camp. A son of Eros, no less.

"Of course." Said boy smiled his razor smile as he attempted to slash her torso with a cutting-edge move.

She sidestepped easily and when he was off-balance, thrust the tip of the blade under his chin, a little smirk playing on her lips. "I win."

He didn't move for some time, and Alex was involuntarily trapped by the intensity of his eyes, him being so close she could pick out the flecks of gold and onyx in them. She moved her sword a little so that the side of its blade was across his neck, but didn't move.

Adonis leaned in close, so close she could raise her head and the top of her head would brush his white hair. She stood frozen there for a moment, everything deathly quiet around them. He moved closer, enough to kiss her before she could respond. Alex was so damn surprised she just stood there with wide eyes, unable to do anything. She wondered whether this was the ability of the son of Eros.

She did enjoy it, though.

When he pulled away, a smile, a real, non-flirtatious _or_ a dangerous smile, rested on his lips. His smile widened at her surprised expression as he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "The green-eyed demigod candy _does_ have irresistible lips."

His tone was so drawing that Alex swallowed, feeling a fluttering in her stomach, as he pulled back, giving her another of his smiles as he walked out, leaving behind an extremely confused and extremely aroused demigod, a blush still coloring her cheeks.

 _Line Break_

The demigod stood uncertainly in the new cabin, Connor Stoll next to her as she took in the interior of the Hermes Cabin.

It was an extremely spacious cabin, bed bunks lined on either side, even a staircase at one end of the room, suggesting a second storey to the cabin. Idly, she wondered whether every unclaimed demigod ended up here, or the Greek god of thieves had as many kids as he had professions.

The kids seemed kind of cruel, though.

A blond boy deliberately bumped into her as he walked past. A black haired girl gave her a once over and sniffed in distaste. The demigod felt her face burning with embarrassment and shame.

Then a boy with brown eyes pushed her a little from behind, grunting as he looked at her in complete and utter disgust. "Get out the way, girl. We have stuff to do rather than look at your face all day long."

She blushed in embarrassment as Connor gave the guy a warning look. "Leave her alone, Adam. She's new."

"Or what?" the kid, Adam, said. "You'll hit me with your brother? Oh, right, your brother isn't _here_. College?" He gave Connor a smug look, and the younger Stoll pressed his lips together and scowled at the boy.

Adam turned back to her. "Whatcha lookin' at? _I said,_ get out the way _, Nika."_

And that was it. One thing Andronika hated was someone calling her Nika.

A sharp crack sounded in the room as her knuckles connected with Adam's jaw. He collapsed instantly, and she cracked her knuckles again. "It's _Andy."_

The room was silent.

Connor Stoll gave her an approving grin, and mouthed, _I like you._ He handed her a neatly folded orange shirt and a pair of jeans to change into, slipping her a can of Coke under the supplies. He grinned at her surprised expression and quickly reassured her. "Don't worry. Our dad is quite literally the god of smuggling, and you seem to be a cool girl. So, relax and take that bunk over there"- He pointed to one on the end-"And I'll steal you some toiletries."

She wondered, briefly, whether he was kidding or not. She decided not. What? The boy had the look of a prankster.

She nodded slightly as he smiled at her reassuringly and left the cabin, shutting the door behind him. For a moment, everyone stopped what they were doing, turning to look at her.

She suddenly felt nervous. Her throat was dry, even though the old centaur had given her a drink of water when she arrived at camp, injured and barely conscious. This was the hard part. Getting people to like you.

Then a girl with brown hair and sparkling sky blue eyes suddenly grinned. "Hey, you're the new girl, aren't you? The one everyone think is Ares?"

She didn't know about the Ares part, but she nodded, very slowly and carefully.

The girl's grin, if possible, turned even wider. "Come on then! Your bunk is right below mine, and if Connor likes you, then I'm sure _we_ will too!"

The campers of the Cabin started smiling and welcoming her, and she just stood there, her eyebrows slightly raised, stunned. The blue eyed girl rolled her eyes good naturedly, and slipped her hand into hers. "Well, don't just stand there! Come on!"

Andy smiled just a bit as he was led to the designated bunk, thanking the girl. "Um, thanks…?"

"It's Kira." The girl, who now had a name, said, using the same tone Andy did when she was addressing the recently punched camper, Adam. "And this," she gestured round the room, "Is the party cabin! No matter what the Dionysus kids say." She grinned. "You'll love it." She said, handing her a rubber band and a Green Day t-shirt, winking before she disappeared up the stairs.

Andy smiled at her retreating form, thankful that she had a friend. As she entered the bathroom and slipped into the new orange t-shirt and jeans, she smiled to herself. Making her way back to the bunk, she popped open the can of Coke and looked at the Pegasus and Camp Half-Blood print on the t-shirt.

For once, she couldn't help thinking, that she had found a cool place to _crash_.

She laughed a little darkly. _Or to call home._

 **Foe those who have yet not realised this, Adonis Lane is an albino.**

 **As you see, I'm complicating Alex's love life. Still who do you think is Andy's godly parent? It's been hinted at in the chapter.** **Twice!**

 **So? Like it? No? Review, whichever one it is!**


	11. Primordial Legacy

**A/N: So, you might be slightly confused in some chapters, as later chapters are going to be a combination of stuff happening in current time, and dreams. If you guys don't get something, ask. I'll explain.**

* * *

 _One week later._

* * *

Percy found himself in the middle of a huge room, like the ones he'd seen in one of Annabeth's ideas for the redesigning of Olympus. Marble statues cornered the room, both ends of the space lacking walls, as if his was in the centre of a courtyard rather than a room.

Then he realized that the sunlight making shadows in the centre was coming from the sky, and when he looked up, the ceiling was lacking too.

And when he looked about, he realized that all the walls had disappeared, leaving him in the centre of a large platform, with a marble floor and pale Greek style statues in the corners, towering over a huge area and looking down at an entire city. _Rhodes,_ a voice whispered in his mind, as he spied a huge colossus in the heart of the city, probably the city's patron god.

This meant that he was in Ancient Greece.

Okay, he thought. A demigod dream.

The next thing he noticed was that he was wearing a Greek _chiton,_ lined with gold. He raised his eyebrows and looked around, wondering what in Hades he was doing in this dream.

"My lord."

He blinked and turned to the voice, a soft, lyrical tone that he felt he should be familiar with. A woman, in a _chiton_ similar to his, was standing next to him, looking down at the city with a content, calm smile.

Her blond curls were pinned up in a Greek hairstyle, the way he had seen princesses wear their hair. She had an aura of power around her, and looked like one of those ageless mythological figures. Percy decided she must be a goddess.

Then she turned her face towards him, and he felt a profound shock in his system. Her eyes were an impossible blue, mixed with swirls of glass green. And her face…

She was the spitting image of Annabeth.

But then again, Percy mused, Annabeth wasn't likely to call him 'my lord', even in a godsdamned _dream._

She smiled. "I know what you are thinking, my lord." She held up her arms and looked at them. "This is not what I truly looked like. But with the new dawn…I must say all of our anchors have influenced us with their image, haven't they?" she smiled at him again, this time an Annabeth like knowing smile. "Even you have green eyes."

He tried to speak, but it seemed that his mouth was glued shut, as if the person he was in the dream wished to have control over him as he slumbered.

The goddess shook her head, sighing as she looked at him. "He calls you," she said, skimming his forearm with her fingertips, sending currents of pleasure-shock up his spine. "You must be safe, my lord."

The world seemed to invert, the dream changing into a scene where fire rained from the sky and everything seemed to burn.

She gave him one last reassuring smile as the glowing embers enveloped her, but her eyes held concern and determination. "Trust your legacy."

And everything turned into flame and ash.

* * *

When he gained awareness, or so to say, his consciousness regained sense, he was chained to a wall. No, not a wall…the surface ground against his now bare back, sharp stones digging into his feverish flesh. He was standing in lava, his arms chained to a mountain, his feet to the ground.

Everything hurt; his arms felt cut open with blades and the shackles seemed to bite into his wrists and ankles and he noticed he was in nothing but torn and smoldering jeans. It stunned him even more when he realized the heat had no effect on him…it seemed like he was back in Hephaestus's forges in the Labyrinth, only this time, there were no monsters, and the flames didn't burn him.

"Having fun, sea child?"

Percy blinked against the heat and looked to his right, where the voice seemed to come from. A blurred figure, almost like a semi humanoid pillar of ash, leaned against the mountain next to him. He wondered for a second whether it was a monster, but the man (the voice was male) seemed like a strange presence, one he had never felt before.

The figure laughed—like paper crackling as it burnt, wood consumed in flames. Something told Percy that he did nothing but burn—burn as one column, burn everything in its path until it was nothing but a desert of ash. "Perhaps you are wondering why I look so. So I tell you," the man grinned. Percy couldn't see him doing so, but he could sense him—as if he himself was grinning. "I tell you that I am not… _fully_ formed yet."

This time, Percy found that he could speak. "Are you in Tartarus?"

He laughed again, and Percy had to cringe at the sound. "No, demigod. I am—I _was—_ someplace where there is no return, seemingly. But my essence has found its way back to the world. And it feeds off _fire."_

"Gee, I'd never guess." His own voice sounded like a croak.

"You demigods have a strange sense of humor." The figure smirked—again, he could sense it. "I may seem sadistic because of what I am to do, demigod, but…" He pulled Riptide from Percy's pocket and uncapped it.

The blade seemed to _glow_ , with a powerful light in _his_ hands. He smiled and purred as he ran his hand along the edge of the blade. "This is celestial heritage, you know. It once belonged to—"

He broke off with another chuckle. "Why waste information?" his smile gleamed malice. "You _will_ know your ancestry soon."

He positioned the tip of the sword over Percy's heart, and smiled. Turning his own weapon against him. "I need your fire, sea child." The man put the tip on his skin, where the metal bit into his chest and summoned blood to the surface. The figure smirked. "So _burn,_ Perseus. _Burn."_

He drove the blade into his heart, and Percy screamed.

* * *

Alex was not amused to be woken up in the middle of the night by her brother's incoherent screaming.

She was sleeping pretty peacefully, her dreams mostly consisting of scenes she had no idea what to make of. Swords crossed as a storm dropped from the sky, some words being muttered in a language of the Ancients that Alex somehow understood, words like _heritage,_ and _fire,_ and _sanctify,_ and _blood_ , and a royal purple cloak shimmering with a metallic luster, and eyes—gold and silver and violet and red. And there was something about a curse being handed down, from a primordial, a Titan.

The dream stopped at a scene where a young woman was bent over the form of a man, inhumanely crystalline teardrops shimmering on her face that was turned away from Alex. The woman passed her hand over his face, saying something she did not quite catch, and the man's eyes opened.

Alex gasped. His eyes were a deep, flaring violet— _beautiful_.

Then a piercing scream shattered her dream.

She got up fast, alert for any signs of a threat. She jumped over the side of the bunk, crouching, her fingers involuntarily closing over Shockwave, seeking the warm safety of familiarity. She blinked rapidly to adjust her vision to the darkness, and looked around for threats. Her eyes scanned the room, and stopped and narrowed when they fell on the writhing body of her brother.

She dropped her fighting stance and walked over to him, her brows knitting together in concern. His body was sweaty, tangled in sheets, his chest heaving as he strained against invisible restraints. His pillow lay on the floor next to his bunk, and his mess raven hair was matted against his forehead, beads of perspiration against his cheekbones.

Alex rolled her eyes in annoyance and threw the sheets off him, leaning over to grab his shoulders and shaking him hard. No response. She scowled. He'd just woken her up from her—for once—non-nightmare night and now absolutely _refused_ to wake up himself. She dug her fingers into his shoulder blades and shook him hard, hissing, "Wake _up, Percy!"_

His eyes flew open, pupils blown wide, almost consuming the green which was now only a thin ring around the black. She frowned again, reconsidering her infuriation. Maybe he had a pretty bad nightmare.

His hand drifted to his chest, to the place where his heart would be. He pressed his fingers against it and moved to examine them, sighing in relief when he sighted them.

Alex looked at him in confusion. "That must've been one _hell_ of a bad dream."

Percy registered her presence and sat up, breathing hard. "It was."

She raised her eyebrows, questioning.

He shrugged. "Torture scene. And Annabeth."

She looked at him in mild, thinly veiled amusement. "So you too live in fear of 'the girlfriend'?"

He scowled at her. "Annabeth first. Scene change, weird smoky guy, Riptide through my heart."

She didn't even try to hide her confusion. "Run that by me again."

"I was in a courtyard, overlooking a city. A goddess was there, and she…" he hesitated. "She looked exactly like Annabeth, except her eyes were blue-green. Like, _dark_ blue with tiny bits of neon green."

She raised an eyebrow. "Highly descriptive of you."

Percy rolled his eyes. "She said that 'we'," he made air quotes with his fingers. "are influenced by our 'anchors'. So, these gods have anchors. Then she pointed out that I have green eyes, which seems unnecessary. And then she was all like, "he's calling you, you gotta go, and trust your legacy, by the way." Kind of weird. And then I was in a place that was all fire and lava. And I was chained to the side of a mountain. Next to me was this weird humanoid dark figure who said he had been chained and fed on 'fire'. He said that he needed my fire, and then he drove Riptide into my heart."

Alex cocked her head to the side. "That's…confusing. Are you sure it was just a dream and he wasn't a real mythical figure."

He hesitated. "Well…his speech made it sound like he escaped from somewhere, and needed to 'feed' to regain his full power."

Something nagged at her mind, an idea that ran away when she tried to chase it. "Well…we should sleep now. We could ask Rachel later."

Percy nodded, looking weary. "Yeah. It's better to sleep right now rather than, you know, chat about nightmares."

She gave him a curt nod and walked back to her own bunk. Before laying down, she hesitated and looked back. "Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"Did he say something about…you know, handing something down from _protogenoi_?"

A moment of hesitation. "I think so…Titan heritage. Why?"

She swallowed, the prophecy swirling in her mind. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

* * *

"…Rachel?"

Nothing. If the prophetess was in the cave, she certainly gave no indication of being so. Alex stepped cautiously through the curtains, looking around curiously. A bed was pushed against one wall, a red leather armchair and a couple couches in the middle. The cool, damp walls of the cave were occasionally smeared with paint, and there were a few easels scattered around.

She walked to one that seemed the most recent, paint still clinging in splatters to the rough canvas cloth covering the picture underneath. Alex's sneakers pressed against the damp floor, successfully eliminating any noise footsteps might have made.

Alex grabbed one end of the coarse cloth and flung it aside, wondering what Rachel had painted. The paper was covered in orange and grey and red and –

In a sharp movement, she sucked in her breath, reeling from the shock, eyes wide at the scene before her.

Percy—her _brother_ —stood with outspread arms, a firestorm raging around him. Rivulets of water shot through the flames, steam billowing from the fire into a cloudless, crimson sky. His camp T-shirt was torn, jeans ripped with claw marks, clothes smoldering—but he looked unharmed, his eyes shining with wild content. His lips were drawn back in a snarl, and his _eyes—_

Pupil less, consumed in unhallowed fire.

Alex stumbled back in alarm, her legs tangling in the lavender curtains as she stepped out of the cave and ran as fast as her feet would carry her, determined to ask Percy if it rang a bell.

The cabins came into her line of view, and—

She crashed into a boy, sending them both to the ground. Groaning, she got up and scowled at the imbecile who'd made her fall.

She opened her mouth to curse him, but faltered as she noticed his features. Sharp, almost colorless irises, shaggy black hair, and the unmistakable aviator jacket. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades extraordinaire.

He got to his feet and rolled his eyes at her, which made her own green ones narrow.

"Watch where you're going." She hissed.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I was sent to find you. So I guess _you_ should watch where _you're_ going."

Alex opened her mouth to come up with a comeback, and then blinked as his words settled. "I'm being summoned?"

He nodded.

"Where?" she asked, dreading the answer.

Nico wrung his hands and rested his fingers on the hilt of his Stygian Iron sword. "Chiron's calling you." he said, and turned away. "The quest is on."

* * *

 **There you go. Finally the story takes off!**

 **Reviews would be much appreciated.**


	12. The Taken

"Why?"

Those were the first words to leave Malcolm's mouth when Lou Ellen told him that Chiron was asking for him.

She shrugged. "I really don't know…maybe because your cabin members were injured, um, pretty _badly_ in the three legged death race?"

He frowned, remembering the pretty bad camp activity that had taken place some four or so days ago. Percy had been right. It _was_ a bad idea, and one look at the injured campers said enough. "If that was the case, he would've asked for every head counselor whose cabin member was injured."

Lou threw up her hands in exasperation. "Look, I don't know, okay? Don't bombard me with questions. You can ask whatever you want to _Chiron._ Maybe even go all Athena-ninja on him?"

Malcolm raised his eyebrows in amusement as the Hecate demigod walked away. _Athena-ninja?_

He made his way over to the Big House, wondering what the Hades the old centaur wanted to speak to him about. Entering the record room, he was pretty surprised to find two others already in the room.

"Hey." Alex waggled her fingers at him, smiling in mock shyness and girliness from her luxurious position in the huge armchair, her long, jean-clad legs crossed at the ankles, propped up on the round, wooden coffee table.

Percy looked at his sister in amusement. "What are you doing?"

She scowled at her twin. "It's called physical _sarcasm,_ smart ass."

Malcolm held his hand up as if asking a teacher a question in a class room. Alex pointed a finger at him like, _yes, you. "_ Why are we here?"

Percy stopped what he was doing abruptly, which was angrily pacing the length of the room, and threw his hands up in an annoyed gesture that reminded him vaguely of Lou Ellen. "Apparently the quest is on. Chiron's coming in a few, and we ADHD juveniles have been carelessly left in his sitting room. Now that's a problem that is eating up my brain. WHY is the quest on?"

The son of Athena sighed. "What does it have to do with me anyway? I mean, you two have to be going because of your swords and" –he lowered his voice—"your twin thing. But I—"

"I asked for you, genius." The daughter of Poseidon answered in a bored voice, casually studying her nails. "We couldn't have a better partner, as you are the only ones besides _us,_ who knows about the 'twin thing'." She said, smirking lazily as she mimicked his earlier words.

Malcolm felt his cheeks heating up. "Shut _up_."

She mock gasped. "You wouldn't _dare."_

"Okay, that's enough, guys." Percy held up both his hands in a placating gesture, looking like he was barely holding back a smile. "You two have quenched the thirst of entertainment of this ADHD juvenile. Besides, there's enough romantic tension in the room."

They both scowled at the green eyed boy. Alex flipped him off.

Percy just laughed.

The door opened, and Malcolm's head snapped to the movement as Chiron entered in his wheelchair form. "Now, now, campers."

Alex straightened her posture and quickly withdrew her legs from the position of the top of the table. Percy stopped pacing and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the old trainer expectantly. Malcolm simply leaned against the wall, wondering what the quest was going to be about. Chiron gave them a curt nod as he gestured for them to settle down. "You all know why I am here."

Percy sighed. "The quest. But you said—"

"—that we'll wait for a month, yes. But that was when we did not have a particular reason to execute it. And now we do."

The blond demigod blinked. "What?"

Chiron hesitated. Malcolm had rarely seen him hesitate, so this must be one hell of some news. "Some mortals are seeing the world. They're…noticing whatever is happening in the world of gods. Just yesterday a satyr reported a mortal girl screaming when she saw a Party Pony in Florida. A businessman fainted in central park after a demigod with a sword walked past him. This is becoming more common by day."

Alex leaned against the back of the armchair, her expression closed off, unreadable when Chiron spoke off central park, her face smoothed off and coolly calm. "Some mortals have the Sight. It's not that rare."

Chiron shook his head. "You don't understand, child. Mortals with the Sight don't walk by a satyr every day. This is too frequent to be a coincidence."

Malcolm's mind was moving at a thousand miles per hour. "Do you mean—"

He nodded, his face grave and ashy. "Yes. I'm afraid the Mist is failing."

There was a moment of utter silence in the room.

Percy gulped. " _What?"_

"That is right, Percy. We must execute a quest to find the source of this." The centaur said.

"But…why can't the _gods_ do something?! Every god has power to fix the Mist! It's not like they don't have any say in the matter!"

Chiron looked at Percy sadly, as if imagining his fate. "But every god's ability to change something in an element can only go so far. The god of the element is the one who holds the power of the gods' ability in the element in his hands."

Alex tensed her shoulders. "So they _can_ do something about it. They still have _some_ power over it!"

The trainer looked at the fireplace, where a log of wood was slowly being consumed by gold and red flames, licking the ashy surface. "But only _some._ That works only when the god of the element is capable, or in power."

Alex's eyes narrowed and he noticed her fingers clutching the armrest, her knuckles turning white. Percy looked at Chiron disbelief written all over his face as his arms lowered to his side ever so slowly.

"And I'm afraid we've lost the god who holds the title of a lord of the Mist."

Malcolm felt a cold feeling in the pt of his stomach. "You don't mean—"

"Yes, son of Athena. I do." Chiron looked him dead in the eye, his own brown ones clouded with anxiousness and worry. "The goddess of magic is gone, as if wiped off the face of _gaea._

"Hecate has been taken."

* * *

Percy felt vaguely uncomfortable as he eyed the various dangerous-looking _things_ hanging off the room's walls. Torches lit with violet and rose and silvery cobalt flames proudly decorated the corners of the room, in intricate bronze and gold stands. Braziers and blades hung about the place, as if the demigods in the Morpheus cabin tore apart visions every day before breakfast.

They probably did too.

The only reason they were here was to consult the head counselor of the cabin to divine any traces of elemental or dark magic that might be sensed across the North American subcontinent, as Hecate had been taken from where she used to reside in Las Vegas, the new mythological home of magic, serving as a home to the Lotus Hotel And Casino and all.

Cameron Gray, the head counselor for Morpheus, gestured for them to sit as they entered, himself taking a seat on the couch next to the heavenly (read: pagan) fireplace. The fire itself blazed in a million different colors as if encompassing all the vividness of the domain of Morpheus; all the colors of the domain of dreams.

Cameron's ashy blond hair fell into his eyes, which were another flabbergasting violet and crimson color, the vibrantly enigmatic irises that only children of magic seemed to possess. He rested his forearms on his knees, leaning forward enthusiastically, his hands clasping to form a cage of slender fingers. "What do you need to know?"

Alex looked disturbed. "Well…we were wondering if you could…divine any traces of dark magic around Las Vegas? Maybe even the rest of the continent?"

He raised a slender eyebrow, and Percy noticed idly that his hair was shot through with occasional streaks of gray, his eyes containing bits of cobalt. "Of course I can. The Hecate cabin would be helpful too, but I doubt they would be very helpful if—"

"Their mother's incapacitated." Malcolm finished in a frustrated manner, waving a hand in a gesture telling him to get on with it.

The news could not be kept from the campers, as it was necessary to warn them of the dangers and tell them to carry concealed weapons, just in case they encountered a mortal. It wasn't easy telling them to calm down, though, as the Mist failing was pretty explosive news. The Hecate cabin was still chaos, and had even offered the three, ah, _extreme_ magical assistance, to put it calmly.

"Yes." Cameron nodded. "I wagered you guys would need help in sensing at least the goddess's whereabouts, so I tried looking for magic. However," he gestured helplessly to a brazier, "we couldn't find dark magic, but we _did_ find some traces of worn off enchantments. The imprisonment chant, the subduing spell. Leftovers. Like worn enchantments."

Percy looked at him in sudden interest. "Like the sort Hecate and her children use? _Incantare?"_

"Yeah. It was around Seattle, moving upwards. I guess, if you will follow the trail, it will probably lead you to the Alexander Archipelago. But still, try to be aware. They might be trying to take her to Alaska, as the gods won't be able to aid the goddess there, much less Hecate be able to help _herself._ Just…be aware." His tone was worried.

Percy glanced at the clock. It was almost afternoon. "Anything else?"

He nodded again. "And I have reason to believe that those weren't used by the goddess herself. These spells had traces of olden magic, so it was someone else who used these spells."

Something shifted in the air, and clouds covered the sun outside, turning the room under shadows. It was almost as if…there was another presence in the cabin. The air suddenly seemed chill.

Alex whirled on him. Her eyes turned dark with fury, narrowed in mocking as the corners of her lips turned down in a disapproving manner. " _Of course, O gios ton oneíron_. A kidnapped goddess is…of not much _use_ in the _ager magicae."_

Her voice was colder, more lyrical, soft, almost. Definitely not Alex's.

Malcolm's eyes were wide as he slowly turned to her. "What are you _saying?"_

Alex blinked and looked at him. The strange expression was gone from her face. One look at Malcolm's wide-eyed, concerned expression, she paled. "I did it again, didn't I?"

The son of Athena nodded as he searched her face worriedly, Cameron looking at her with a hint of confusion and fear in his face. "She did that in the meeting as well. It disturbs me…well; I _have_ heard those words before. Like a…a prediction."

Malcolm calmly pressed Alex's forearm in a soothing gesture as he turned to the son of Poseidon. "She called him a son of dreams…and said stuff about the field of magic, but the latter was Latin. Does she do this normally, like in the cabin…Percy? Are you all right?"

Percy felt as if her behavior had snapped something inside him. His throat closed up in a welling of emotions he couldn't describe, and his mind felt millennia old, feeling as though he was watching what he was doing on a screen, as if he couldn't control it.

The foggy feeling seeped into his soul, his bones…and he started feeling _suffocated,_ like there was another soul in his body and there was not enough space for one. Like a freaking _parasite._ And it felt like he was floating away, wrenched from his physical form, being separated from his mind and body. In _pain._

It felt eerily similar to being possessed by an eidolon, except…he felt as if he'd _sensed_ this power before, and it _incinerated_ him.

And then there was the helpless feeling of a shallow consciousness, like his soul was starting to slumber, and the other presence inside him was _feeding_ off the remains, the shattered pieces where his soul was harshly cut off from his own body, his _own_ _mind._

He felt his lips pulling up in a challenging and lazy smirk. " _Demigods_ _._ Δεν κοροϊδεύει την αδελφή μου."

Percy's own voice sounded harsher, deeper. Not his own.

Cameron's gaze was wide eyed, gripping the head of his armrests as his knuckles turned white with disbelief and clenching the wooden jut too hard. "Did he just—"

"Talk in another language? I'm afraid so." Malcolm swallowed as his gaze flitted between Percy and a blank Alex. "' _Do not mock my sister.'"_

Alex shuddered, looking at Percy with a surprised and unpleased gaze. "Protective brothers. Bad."

The son of Morpheus looked at the siblings in fearful scrutiny. "It's like eidolons. _Manifestation."_

Percy, still not in control of his actions, snarled at the demigod. " _There are more important matters in the world. The quest, as such."_

"Yes." Cameron shook his head, looking at Percy in anxious study. "But something is wrong." He looked deeply perturbed. "A possession this intense…I'm sorry, Percy. You may have a headache when you wake up."

Before Percy could ask him what he meant, feeling his soul settle back in his body, the son of Morpheus leaned forward. He passed his hand over Percy's face, and he felt himself falling into slumber, his mind consumed with dreams.

* * *

Alex shook her head as they studied the lines of weapons decorating the walls of the room. It was certainly a prettier sight then the Morpheus cabin, with its runes and spells and torches and whatnot. Blades had always been more her thing than magic.

It definitely wasn't as good as the armory back in her training centre with Athena, but it provided for a camp full of demigods, so it must be saying something.

An entire array of swords lined the left wall. Longswords, shortswords, backswords, katanas, _gladius,_ leaf blades, _maqaries,_ you name it. They'd been advised to carry concealed weapons as they'd be travelling in the mortal world, so here they were, in the armory, choosing weapons they could at least hide.

Malcolm picked up a pair of knuckledusters and examined them, running his thumb over the metal's flat side. "We should take some of these."

"Like slugging monsters, son of Athena?" she responded as she looked through a line of crossbows. "'Wow, look, what a fist sized bruise that blondie left on my face.' It won't kill, Gray Eyes."

Malcolm looked visibly offended. "Naming people after their physical characteristics is _racist,_ my friend!"

Alex laughed as she held up a _shuriken,_ like ninja throwing stars, and ran her fingertips along the blade's edge. "You're the one to talk."

He shook his head, but there was a tiny smile on his face as he ducked to examine the underside of a canon. "Ha ha. I just hope Percy's going to be all right."

The smile faded from her face. Percy had passed out after Cameron did his weird magic thing with him, and they had left him back in Cabin three, snoring as he lay on his bunk. "Yeah."

Malcolm looked at her curiously. "You do that… _thing_ with more clarity, and you don't even pass out. What _is_ that, anyway?"

"I don't. Maybe I'm _mentally_ more capable than my brother, if you know what I mean? And I really have _no_ idea what the Hades it is."

He frowned. "DO you understand it or something? I mean, it _does_ happen to _you."_

She shrugged, strapping a bronze breastplate over her chest. "When I get it, I'll get back to you."

Malcolm's brow furrowed in concentration. When he turned back to find her fastening on a pair of arm guards, he noticed something as a fond smile tugged at his lips. After getting over himself, he pushed back his shoulders and turned to Alex.

He smirked and leaned over to her, tugging back a strap of armor over her shoulder. "After all these years of training with Athena, even the mighty daughter of Poseidon can't tie her armor on properly."

Alex blinked and looked at the armor piece. She scowled. "I was getting there, dumb ass. I even have a feeling you just wanted to lean close to me on purpose." A smirk had climbed on to her face at the last statement.

He blushed immediately, averting his gaze to the sword he was examining, and frowned in indignation. "I was _not._ I merely assumed that you had not tied it properly."

Alex smiled teasingly. "Haven't you heard? A daughter of Poseidon, who's trained with Athena _all these years,_ can fasten her armor to herself properly."

He rolled his eyes at her mocking tone. "Just choose your weapons, Jackson."

It was only fortunate that there was no one else in the vicinity but them, so they could refer to Alex's _true_ past. She wasn't amused, though, as the 'last name basis' brought to her mind Adonis Lane and the unexpected kiss. She hadn't told anyone about it though, and was pretty confused herself, not having the time to talk to the son of Eros in the week's time that followed.

"Yeah, yeah." She grabbed a weapons belt and fixed some _shurikens_ to it.

He smiled as she stuck out her tongue at him, which seemed quite petulant by the standards of a champion of Athena. Picking off three pairs of _kakutes,_ which were basically finger rings with a single spike protruding from their front,for each of the three quest members, he slipped them into a bag and turned in time to see Alex admire a Japanese knife and fan contraption and slip t into her weapons belt.

She grinned at him, and in a lightning movement, threw something. He caught it reflexively and held up a weapon, which was a weapon with a hilt with blades protruding from its either side. Good for one handed killing.

"A _haladie,"_ she explained. "Eastern ancient weapon."

Malcolm nodded and passed her one of his choices, a weapon with an H shaped handle and a singly blade. She pressed a hidden button on the handle and the blade split into three. "And that's a medieval _Katar."_ She smirked at him, like, _I know all of these weapons, and you can't beat me at this thing._ "Impressive. We should keep one."

 _Show off,_ he thought as he smiled inwardly, but dismissed the idea of voicing his opinion out loud. The daughter of Poseidon probably wouldn't be amused at his choice of words, and Malcolm had to be at least _a little_ careful, her being the sister of the most powerful (not to mention protective) demigod of the generation, and the child of one of the _Big Three,_ and all.

He slipped a pair of _sai_ into his own belt. They were sort of smaller versions of tridents with a shorter staff, ancient 'Athena-ninja' style, to quote Lou Ellen. He intended to stab a monster with this pair. "Let's get going, then." Malcolm grinned at his quest partner.

Alex gave him a feral smile, a calculated one, worthy of the Tritonian nymphs she'd trained under. Holstering a compact Medusa (not very aptly named) revolver into her thigh holster, she cracked her knuckles. "Let's."

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, I know. You guys will have to wait until the next chapter for the quest to start. And if you don't understand the appearances of any of the weapons I've introduced here, Google 'em. Always works.**

 **Reviews would be much appreciated!**


	13. End To The Aberrations

**Sorry sorry sorry sorry.**

 **So so so so so so so so sorry you guys!**

* * *

White.

The first thing he saw when he woke up was white.

Then the harsh, _harsh,_ white light melted into a less harsh shade, and then the palest of yellow hues, and then a glimmering amber, as if he was a bug trapped in the golden liquid.

And then came the pain.

Percy gasped and doubled over in his bed as what felt like a hammer cracked open his skull. His brain felt like it was being penetrated by thousands of spikes, and he could do nothing but groan and squeeze his eyes shut against the tears of pain.

 _So this is what a fucking hangover felt like._

But he didn't remember drinking or going to a party, where his drink could've been spiked or something. He just pressed his fingers against his throbbing temples as he tried to think back to the last thing he remembered.

Chiron? No, the Morpheus cabin. And there was Cameron and Alex and Malcolm and…

And that crazy sensation of being inside his own body but not being able to control what he did.

Percy sat up with much difficulty and raised a hand to shield his eyes against the sunlight filtering through the open curtains. He could deduce that he was in his own cabin, but that was pretty much it.

"Take this."

He painfully shifted his gaze to Alex, who was holding out a thermos bottle to him, her expression a cross between amused and concerned. Taking the bottle from her outstretched hand, he popped open the cap and swallowed the sweet liquid as the familiar taste of his mom's chocolate chip cookies filled his senses. He couldn't help the contented sigh to escape from his lips as the pain almost instantly vanished from his head.

"Feel better?" Alex questioned as she sat down beside him, her sea green eyes, so identical to his, searching his face for any sign of leftover pain.

"Much better, thanks." He handed the nectar bottle back to her. "What was that, anyway?"

"You got possessed." She said as she got up and grabbed a belt from a hook on the door. "By some old deity or something."

 _Feeling of no control._

"I think I may know who." He grimaced as she whipped around sharply and narrowed her eyes on him.

"Who?"

Her bluntness made him shudder a little. "I'm not completely sure. It was a man…from my dreams. His form was blurred, and ashy…remember? He tortured me."

She frowned in thought. "This is definitely connected to the quest."

Percy nodded. "Yeah. But what's that you've got there?"

Alex looked down at her weapon belt. "Oh, this? I and Malcolm took the liberty of choosing a bunch of weapons for the quest. We were just waiting for you to wake up. We leave after dinner."

"Alright then…any news?"

She paused mid-movement, and slowly turned away from him so he couldn't see her expression, a movement he suspected was deliberate. He frowned. "What is it?"

"Oh, not much." She slowly put down a shuriken on the coffee table. "One of the two new campers has been claimed."

That piqued his interest. "Oh yeah? Who?"

The demigod ran her fingers along the wooden edge of the table. "Celena Natasha Kyle."

Percy tapped his foot impatiently. "Yeah, yeah. By whom?"

His sister stopped and put her hands on her hips, looking up to the ceiling with a conflicted expression. This tiny gesture alerted him immediately. Who was it? A titan? Or worse, even a _protogenoi?_

"Artemis."

* * *

Malcolm sat, fidgeting with his amulet as he studied the interior of Argus's van. Alex sat next to him, either running her fingers along the flat of her Trojan dagger or winding and unwinding her garrote. Percy was on his opposite side, drumming his fingers against his jeans pocket, something his sister periodically also repeated. This, Malcolm thought, these movements were totally related to how much the three relied on certain weapons.

He ran a hand down the seat's leather cover as he wondered how the quest was going to go. A god had been kidnapped…maybe it wasn't as dramatic as Artemis being taken by Kronos's army or Celena being claimed bay Artemis, but Malcolm wasn't exactly all roses about his current quest, especially with that scary sounding prophecy.

And no, he didn't have an obsession with Artemis. He was just stating facts which were coincidentally related to the goddess of the Hunt.

Weirdest part, though, was when the goddess _herself_ came to Camp Half Blood to claim her daughter, or as she said, 'champion'. Celena hadn't been exactly thrilled to realize that she didn't really have biological parents, or was really a biological child. Granted, half bloods felt unwanted at first, but there was something especially disheartening to know that a god created you by using their essence and some animal as part of the ingredients.

That part had felt especially sickening.

He looked out the van window into the inky black night. Chiron had insisted that they begin their search at nyx, as it was the time when Hecate's essence was the strongest. Of course though. She was a goddess of the Underworld. But that didn't make the situation any less sinister, considering those dreams he was having.

Malcolm sighed and turned his gaze back inside to find Percy looking at him. Upon meeting his eyes, the other demigod's chartreuse gaze turned questioning. The son of Athena shook his head and lifted his lips up in a small, reassuring smile. Percy nodded, but the gray eyed demigod caught his skeptical expression as he turned his face away from him.

Maybe he wasn't the only one finding the situation freaky.

Some time later, they were in the city. New York was undeniably really cool, even at eleven in the night. The trio stepped into a Greyhound after a hike, where Percy seemed undeniably fidgety. Alex rested a hand on her brother's knee in an attempt to calm him, but the gesture didn't seem to work. She sighed irritably.

"Percy, nothing's wrong." She frowned. "You're just freaked out because you encountered the Kindly Ones here. That was five years ago, and plus, Hades isn't after you now."

Right. Malcolm had almost forgotten that she had tracked Perseus Jackson for the more… _mythical_ years of his life.

Her twin shook his head. "No. It's something else. I can…I can _feel_ it."

Alex frowned and retracted her hand from her brother's leg, as physical tactics were obviously not going to work. "You're just hyperactive. Must be the after effects of Gray's divination process."

Malcolm nodded. The theory seemed most probable. "Yeah. But…we should still be alert, Alex. Demigod senses are still utterly undeniable. At least keep some weapons ready."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't need weapons to kill, even if monsters show up."

Percy clenched his jaw. "It's…it's like this vibration at the base of my skull. Like a buzz. But…it's getting stronger."

Right on cue.

The doors of the Greyhound burst open as a dozen or so owl like creatures swarmed into the bus. The vehicle swerved to the right as a bird attacked the driver's eyes. Mortals started screaming as they threw open doors in desperate attempts to get out of the bus.

Malcolm attempted to get up, but the vehicle tilted to the right in another sharp swerve, and fell on top of a man about forty. He looked into the mortal's wide eyes, and as depicted by the clear fear written in them, he could see the monsters' true forms. The demigod gasped and extracted himself from the tangle, only to witness an old lady fall to the floor in a panic unconsciousness.

He turned around to see that the twins had already unsheathed their weapons. Percy was cutting down birds as fast as they were entering the bus, swinging the entire three feet of bronze blade as Riptide sliced through the metallic bodies of the owls. Alex, on the other side, was stabbing and slashing down as many monsters as she could, while using her free hand to maneuver another Greek style concealed dagger to hack apart the monsters.

Gasping, Malcolm ran up to the driver seat and cut down the birds there, pushing the mutilated driver away from the controls and pressing down hard on the brakes. The other doors opened with a hiss, and passengers exited the vehicle, screaming and screeching like proper action scene extras. He then pulled out his amulet and twisted it to activate a mechanism. The metal twisted and connected to elongate into a _haladie,_ and the demigod ran up to join the fight.

"What are they?" Percy yelled over the screaming of birds and screeching of metal against metal, as he neatly cut another into half.

"Strix!" The blond yelled.

"Styx? I didn't take you to be the sweary type."

"I said _strix!_ " Malcolm shouted at him. "Watch out for their beaks! They're Celestial Bronze, and these guys use them for sucking blood. Oh, and avoid those talons as well."

"We got the memo." Alex grunted as she scissored down a bird. "Stay away from the sharp shit."

A strix attacked his face at that moment, and Malcolm stabbed it from below. Face to face with the monster, he found enough time to look into its nocturnal yellow eyes…lacking pupils, none the less.

He remembered the legend of these owls. The legends that their long, metallic beaks would be put to use to cause chaos in the most nocturnal, sharp way possible- drinking the blood of their victims. That was not the part Malcolm found the most horrifying though. Annabeth had told him their more reserved characteristics- how their most probable and preferred victim were newborns. Babies.

Gross.

Seriously, though? That was just _low._

But back to the confrontation. Malcolm almost jumped ship as a strix attacked his eyes, but changed his mind as Alex and Percy collectively cut down the remaining last birds.

"That it?" Alex asked breathlessly as she turned to him.

"I guess so." Percy breathed out, clutching his side in pain.

Malcolm frowned. "You okay?"

"Of course, he's just _dandy,"_ Alex bit out sarcastically. "He wasn't just attacked by an army of killer birds."

"Cut it out, you two." Percy rolled his eyes.

"You _two?_ It was just her! _"_

"Oh, you wish, Pace!"

"I wasn't even asking about him in that way! I meant his side!"

"His _side?_ Are you freaking gay? Cause-"

"What-"

"-if you've been leading me on, I-"

"-I'm not gay!"

"- _will_ castrate you!"

"Will you guys _shut up_?!" Percy yelled, silencing both of them. "Geez, you're like some old married couple," he grumbled. "I kind of get how Grover must have felt."

"We _do not."_ Alex glared at her brother.

Malcolm grunted in agreement.

"Trust me, you're in denial." Percy smirked and before they could attack him together, jumped out of the bus.

The daughter of Poseidon rolled her eyes as she crouched to pick up a gold feather from the floor of the bus, braiding it into her hair.

"Savage." Malcolm commented as he grinned down at her.

She smirked. "I honestly don't know why they don't use these little guys as jewelry. It can't exactly classify as animal cruelty…"

He shrugged as he grabbed a side support bar and jumped off the Greyhound. "Maybe they just want to preserve some bloodsuckers. Maybe they're an exotic breed."

Alex laughed as she got off behind him. "Speaking of exotic breeds, where is my dear brother?"

Malcolm smiled. "I don't really know, though. He _was_ really holding his side in _what looked like pain."_

Alex threw a discarded remnant Celestial Bronze beak at him. "Fine, whatever."

Percy appeared around the side of the bus. "Hey, you guys…"

"You all right man?" Malcolm asked him, noticing him still clutching his side. "Did one of those strix get you?"

"No," he smirked like a true Jackson. Seriously, ever since Alex arrived, all these two would do was smirk, "They weren't enough to get _me._ However…"

"Oh, _that_ injury." Alex grinned as she joined them. She had been with him through the fight, in all fairness. "He freaked out when an old lady panicked and grabbed his arm, and in trying to get away, he hit his side against a seat."

The son of Athena couldn't hold in his laugh. "Done like a true Seaweed Brain."

Percy threw him a playful glare before turning back. "I mean it, though. There's something back here you guys should check out, like, _now."_

Malcolm frowned before following him behind the bus, and into an alley. He looked back at Alex, who shrugged and, with fingers on her dagger, followed suit.

In the dark, Percy pointed to a clearly glowing message on the brick wall. Ichor was smeared on to the wall in the shape of letters and symbols that clearly spelled out something.

Malcolm frowned. "They must have attacked at a fixed time, at a fixed location, when they _knew_ we would've been here." He swallowed. "They know we're coming…"

"But the letters," Alex hissed, clearly alarmed. "They obviously mean something. It's Ancient _Greek."_

Percy raised his eyebrow. "It says καταλήγουν στις εκτροπές."

Malcolm blinked. " _katalígoun stis ektropés._ That doesn't mean anything…"

" _End to the aberrations_." Percy and Alex said together, and Malcolm almost ruined the moment by yelling, 'twin powers'! But seriously, it didn't ring a bell to _him._

"No, it does." Alex swallowed visibly. "This changes _everything."_

* * *

 **I know I'm evil. No need to say it. *grins evilly***

 **Meetcha next chapter!**


	14. The Killer

Yeah, they ended up jacking a car.

It was urgent, as all quests are, and catching another Greyhound didn't seem like a great idea seeing that the last time they did, surprise, surprise, they got attacked by a huge flock of freaking _owls_ whose names rhymed with the river of damnation.

Plus. Percy was not ready to get on another to save his life.

They'd managed to somehow divine traces of magical activity in Olympia, using the crystal Cameron had given them for, well, _divination_ purposes. As al communication systems were down, they had to rely on themselves to track the path of the kidnappers. Alex was thankful that Hecate had at least managed to put some kind of magic scent or something on the monsters before they restrained her magic.

 _Thank Athena for quick thinking gods._

Then she flinched. Despite her years of training with the goddess, Alex couldn't help but feel betrayed by her, being assigned to this quest. She could have easily assumed that Athena herself was in the dark about the Prophecy of Twins, which was what the campers were now calling the long ass prophecy the three of them had got.

But Athena was too smart and farsighted to _not_ know about that. And Alex knew that. Despite her current negativity towards the goddess of wisdom, the daughter of Poseidon couldn't help but feel affectionate towards her son.

She glanced over at him from the passenger seat, to find his attention on the road in front of them. The muscles in his forearms flexed as he made a turn, and she found herself growing jealous over his complete concentration.

"Why are you driving again?" She popped out, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Malcolm resentfully.

He spared a 'duh' look in her direction before turning his attention back to the road. "Because I'm the most mature and responsible one in this entire group. And because you almost crashed us into one of the other cars, because you were distracted by arguing with your brother."

She scowled at him, her arm muscles now flexing by her crossing her arms even more tightly over her seat belt. "So why not just let Percy drive? He has a car back home and everything."

He looked at her in utter disbelief. "You wanna know why, Shark face? Just look in the backseat."

Alex rolled her eyes at his stupid nickname. "Sure, Gray Eyes. There a clown back there or something?"

But she turned slightly to peek over the side of her seat, and rolled her eyes at what she saw. _No wonder he was being so unnaturally quiet._

Percy was sprawled across the less than comfortable seat, but you know what they say about demigods; they can sleep anywhere. His face was resting on his folded hands, and his chin was streaked with drool. Alex withdrew quickly. "Ew."

Then she laughed.

Malcolm looked over at her, suppressing a smile at seeing her open laugh. "Don't be so mocking, _Shaw._ You drool when you sleep too. It seems to be a dominant trait among children of Poseidon."

She tried to glare at him, but failed because of the atmosphere that seemed to be finally light after a tense few hours of trying to navigate to Olympia without running into anymore bloodsucking owls or just monsters in general. Yeah, the _United States of America_ Olympia, not the Greece one.

She simply sighed and sank back into her seat, feeling the heaviness wash over her. Even a trainee of the Tritonian nymphs and the goddess of warfare herself could stay awake for so long. Thankfully none of them had been seriously injured, Percy only ending up with a bruise on his side and the others with a couple cuts and scratches.

Malcolm, however, noticed this. He looked over at her, his eyes gentle. "Hey," he said softly. "You should get some sleep. We're in constant motion so it will be harder for monsters to track us. We don't need two people on lookout."

She shook her head, nevertheless feeling her eyelids getting heavy. "We shouldn't take chances."

He rolled his eyes. "Look, if it concerns you that much, I'll wake up Percy. He's been sleeping for far too long anyway."

Her protests were now weaker. "We should let him sleep."

He sighed. "Fine, Alex. I'll let you drive once you wake up, if that's what you want. I'll even sleep then."

She looked at him pointedly. "And?"

He shook his head exasperatedly. " _And_ I'll wake you up if I get too tired."

She grinned, trying to pass a smartass remark, but her eyes were already closing, and she drifted off the land of Hypnos.

They were in Chicago when she woke up.

She shot up in her seat and glared over at Malcolm, who simply grinned at her innocently.

"You said you'd wake me up. _Earlier."_ She grumbled, and then shifted and looked at the back seat. Her eyes widened. "You didn't wake Percy either!" she shouted accusingly.

He simply shrugged. "Well, I didn't think it was necessary. We were already more than halfway when you fell asleep, and I _did_ consider waking you up when we made a pit stop for gas, but you looked too peaceful while sleeping. Now for Percy, well…he kind of wasn't ready to wake up. I think he's forgotten that we're on a quest."

She sighed, still giving him an accusing look before turning back to look at Percy. Malcolm was right; he did seem to be deep in sleep. But Alex was merciless. And he'd slept long enough.

She reached over and shook him.

He didn't even stir.

Someone would think he's been knocked out by a Laistrygonian or something.

Malcolm glanced at her, and then chuckled. "He's not gonna wake up that easily. Slap him or something."

She smiled at him before smacking Percy upside the head. His eyes immediately snapped open, and he sat up in slow motion, muttering an 'Ow' and rubbing the back of his head. "Best idea you've given me all day."

He simply smiled at her softly. "Honestly, you _did_ look better when you were asleep. So gentle, and, well, _quiet."_

She rolled her eyes before smacking him too.

"Hey!" He shouted. "No hitting the driver!"

"You won't be driving for long, Pace." She grumbled. "Pull over. We're hungry. The last thing we ate was granola bars from the supplies. I need some real food."

Percy spoke in a husky, sleepy voice. "Good idea. So do I. And we can clean ourselves up in the restrooms."

Malcolm raised a blond eyebrow. "Where monsters would be easily attracted? I don't know."

Alex shook her head. "Chicago? I think I can manage. Plus, monsters know that they should never attack a hungry demigod." She finished with a grin.

The son of Athena sighed before obliging and pulling into a McDonald's driveway.

Percy cheered.

They entered the shiny fast food restaurant, and immediately Alex's mouth started watering on viewing the pictures of burgers. "I'll have a Big Mac." She whispered over to Malcolm. "You guys order. I'll be right back."

She walked inside the washroom, first doing her business and then attempted to clean herself up to the best of her ability. About fifteen minutes later, when she walked out, the restaurant was in chaos.

" _Great_." She slipped out Kasfluctus and rushed into battle.

* * *

"Why are they trying to kill us anyway?" Percy yelled to Malcolm over his swordfight with what seemed like a demigod. "They're demigods right?"

Malcolm parried a knife strike, back flipping onto a table and sweeping off another kid with dyed green hair and a bow. "I don't know!" He yelled back. "Ask them!"

 _Words of wisdom from the son of Athena,_ Percy thought as he slashed a demigod's chest. "Where's Alex?" He groaned out as he flipped a table to use as a shield. "I just wanted to eat," he whined as another tried to stab him. He was trying not to kill anyone, simply because they were demigods and it felt _wrong._

A girl with long brown hair and hunting knives tried to smash a chair into his head. Percy ducked and slashed at her leg. She simply parried, moving to aim a knife at his head. He dodged, but she simply snarled.

"You'll suffer for your friend's doing." She sneered at him, eyeing him like a snake ready to strike, knives brandished and ready. Percy blinked.

"What?"

Alex suddenly appeared, flying through the air and landing on the girl's back with a sickening snap. "Strike to kill," She snarled over to Percy and Malcolm, looking every bit like a tigress as she attacked the girl with her spiked knuckledusters, using Kasfluctus with her left hand to slice apart the table under which the girl had rolled.

Malcolm frowned. "They're demigods."

"Exactly," she said while stabbing a blond boy who was trying to conjure a spell. "Demigods from Luke's army."

"You!" The brown haired girl shouted. "Blade! Do you even know what happened because of you? My _brother was killed!"_

Percy's eyes widened as he looked over at the girl, weakly lying below a standing Alex, who had Shockwave raised high in the air.

"You betrayed us, _spy."_ The girl said. "So many demigods suffered because of you."

Alex's face was cold as stone, her eyes reflecting no emotion.

At that moment, Percy felt what Annabeth must've felt when he had tried to kill Akhlys. Helplessness. Despair. Fear.

"Don't do it, Alex." Malcolm said weakly.

She glanced over at him, which wasn't great. Her eyes softened at his expression but turned hard again at noticing the cut across his cheekbone.

Before either of them could react, quick as a cobra's strike, Alex buried the sword in the girl's gut. Already having broken more than a few bones, blood slipped from the side of her lips before she stopped shuddering.

Percy fell silent, a slight pain growing in his chest as he stared at a side of his sister that he's never seen before.

Malcolm was crying quietly.

The remaining three demigods froze, looking over at the killer and killed with mourning but not surprise. The green haired demigod was grim as he turned his dull eyes to Percy. "You see what she is now? She's a monster, a mercenary. She still has no remorse over killing a demigod who had an entire life ahead of her."

Alex paid no attention to his blunt words, almost as if she was used to hearing them. She simply pulled Shockwave from the dead girl's gut and pointed the bloody blade in the direction of the green haired boy.

"Surrender now, and I'll let you live in peace." Alex spoke in an authoritative voice, cold and strong. "And it would be even more helpful if you tell us what lads you have on the kidnapping of Hecate."

"How do you know we're looking for Hecate?" The boy asked carefully.

"Because she is taken. And you need her to survive." Her words were calculated and cold in a way that Athena might've spoken. "Out with it, before I change my mind and slice your head off your neck."

The boy looked at her carefully for a moment before slowly nodding. "All right. But the only thing we know is that they're trying to take her to Alaska, away from the gods…and it's something more powerful than anything we've sensed in a while…we have our suspicions but…"

"That's enough." The daughter of Poseidon spoke calmly before slowly lowering her sword and gesturing to the traitor demigods to leave. "And if we get attacked by any of your brethren on our way there, they'll meet the same fate as the girl." She cast a careless glance at the brunette lying dead at her feet.

The boy trembled as he looked at the brunette's lifeless face again. "At least…" He shuddered once before somewhat composing himself. "At least let us take her. For…for a worthy shroud's flame."

Alex shrugged and moved away from her body, her eyes still hard and indifferent.

Two of the demigods slowly picked up the girl and backed away.

Just before the pack exited out the glass doors, a blond girl turned around and looked at Percy's twin with venomous eyes. "You're a killer worthy of the gods."She spat.

Alex still looked like she could care less.

Percy couldn't decide whether the girl was right or not.

"What…was that?" The sibling whipped their heads to the side to look at Malcolm, who still had tear tracks on his cheeks. His voice was broken, cracked with disbelief.

Alex's eyes softened just a fraction. "A necessity." She spoke simply before moving to jump over the counter and grab some food for them. "Let's eat."

* * *

Malcolm stared over at the girl as they ate, still shaken over the fact that she'd killed someone for _necessity._ And apparently, from the words of the other demigods, this wasn't her first time either. He didn't know how to react to the news. He'd always suspected some violent tendencies to her as well, so he couldn't decide whether to be repelled or just accept it.

Percy didn't look like he was very accepting of her cold blooded killing. He was staring down at his hands, his burger untouched. A first in that area, at least.

Alex was casually stuffing fries into her mouth as if it was no big deal. It probably wasn't for her…she'd probably killed dozens like that.

Malcolm shuddered at the thought.

Alex noticed.

She eyed his form carefully, before speaking. "Look, both of you. Don't dwell on that too much. I've always been that way, and am not changing anytime soon. I'd already told you that I was a trained killer from the very beginning. And anyway, to intimidate the group, I had to kill at _least_ their tracker."

"She said her brother died because of you."

Alex glanced at Percy, her eyes softening marginally. Malcolm watched her, wondering whether she really stabbed her as a necessity or rather out of old habits.

"Percy…" She sighed. "I'd acted as a spy in Luke's army. When the war had reached its absolute, when Charles Beckendorf blew up the _Princess Andromeda,_ Kronos began recognizing my scent, since I was practically Castellan's second in command at that point. I had to…leave."

Something about the way she said 'leave' didn't sit well with Malcolm. "Is that why she called you 'Blade'?"

She nodded. "Another fake identity, just like Shaw. The rogue demigods knew me as Alex Blade." She smiled thinly.

"Let's just focus on the quest for now." Percy said, his voice devoid of any emotion.

' _I had to kill at_ least _their tracker.'_

' _Another fake identity.'_

'… _trained killer from the very beginning.'_

Malcolm stared across the table at Alex, happily munching away at a Big Mac as if she hadn't just killed someone.

How cold _were_ the gods exactly?

* * *

"But I see it, Chiron," Liam insisted. "It's as clear as day."

"They left barely a few days ago, Raven." Celena spoke up, her mind still reeling from the sudden appearance of her moth- _Artemis._ She had apparently been developed from some snow leopard into a human. Well…at least it explained her eyes. "No one is going about attacking them now."

Chiron pursed his lips and folded his hands over his lap. "I don't know, Liam…"

Nico suddenly appeared out of the shadows, swiftly moving to join Will on the table. "Sorry I'm late. What did I miss?"

Andronika eyed him carefully as he practically grabbed all the cookies off the tray. "Liam was just telling us how he had a vision about the quest three being attacked by some mercenaries…and something _blurred."_

Nico frowned. "What…" Then he glanced at the other two girls. "But why are you two here?"

"He saw us." Celena said uninterestedly as she yawned and traced the outline of her hunting knife. "He wants a six member quest."

Suddenly Will tensed. " _A change of rules."_

Nico's mouth fell open. "Rules of a _quest_? _That's_ what it meant?"

Andy frowned. "I don't get what you mean."

"A quest usually is supposed to have three demigods as a rule. If the rules change, well, they can have six as well." Chiron explained.

"But there are just five demigods here." She said, raising her eyebrows.

"Who even said that?" A lyrical, sort of husky voice spoke up from the shadows, from near the walls. "You really didn't see me?"

Andy blinked, turning her attention back to the rest of the party. "You guys saw him or…?"

Nico shrugged before turning his tensed eyes to the spot from where the voice had come. "I sensed him, so…" He managed a thin smile in her direction. "I guess that's cheating here."

"Same here, I guess." Celena spoke up, looking away from her hunting knife. "I'm still not completely used to these 'special huntress senses', but I guess being a _hero_ of Artemis has its perks." Her voice was bitter at the word hero. "I sensed movement there…and this might sound weird, but I _smelled_ him, so, don't judge."

Nico judged her silently from the back. Will smacked his arm.

"I already knew he was there." Liam gave Andronika a sheepish smile. "I kind of called him."

"I didn't know he was there." Will shrugged. "So if that's helpful…"

"Ah, stop it." The voice spoke up again, and the figure stepped out of the shadows to reveal Adonis Lane. "It doesn't matter whether or not you saw me. I'm out here now."

"But…" Will licked his lips as his eyes shifted uncertainly to Andy. "She hasn't been claimed as of yet."

"You sure about that?" Nico smiled again, a slightly smug smile as he pointed at above the girl's head. Then the smugness faded. "What the-"

Andy looked up at the source of the violet light flooding her shoulders, to find herself staring at a chalice. Her thoughts reflected Nico's. "Wha-"

Chiron looked like he was tired of all these claiming. "All hail Andronika Cade, daughter of Dionysus, Lord of the satyrs, God of wine."

The party was still in shock.

Then Will spoke up.

"I really thought she was going to be a Demeter."

It was Nico's turn to smack his arm.

* * *

 **So sorry for the long wait guys! But at least shit is happening now...*smiles sheepishly*.**


End file.
